Snow in the Hayloft
by Parouse
Summary: Modern AU. Holly is always over at Arendelle Stables working or riding with her friends Anna and Kristoff. But after meeting Anna's sister Elsa, Holly becomes interested in her friend's elusive sister. Kristianna, Elsa x OC
1. Your not-so-typical Saturday

_What a wonderful summer day. I'd say probably the most perfect day to come to Arendelle Stables and muck._

The thought brought a smile to Holly's face as she scooped up the soiled shavings from an empty stall, transferring them to her wheelbarrow. Despite the fact that she was covered in dust and had straw poking out of her clothes and hair, she loved every bit of the seemingly disgusting chore. Once the barrow was full, she picked it up and carried it outside to the muck heap, enjoying the scenery on the way.

Arendelle Stables was an expansive horse farm that sat on rolling hillsides that were just far enough away from the city and suburbia. The many acres of Arendelle Stables were made up of fenced pastureland and fields and forests to ride through. Holly began her riding career here in her early teens and every last inch of it, she loved.

Because Holly's parents didn't see the use in paying for anything as frivolous as equestrian sports, Holly agreed to work in exchange for lessons. It kept her in her happy place, out of her parents' hair and was free labour for the stable so everyone was happy with the agreement. Every Tuesday and Thursday night and all day Saturday, Holly would happily work in exchange for a one-hour private lesson with her favourite guy in the world: a small Norwegian Fjord lovingly named Olaf. He was originally the owner's daughter's pony but since she outgrew him, his days were spent in the pasture or as the occasional beginner school horse. Since Holly was smaller in size and took an interest in him, he became her closest companion and her new training mount.

But there was no way she was going to get to spend time with him unless she got the barn cleaned out.

Holly began to whistle a tune as she busied herself with the rest of the stalls in the row. She was nearly done when she felt someone tap on her right shoulder. Knowing the trick, she looked over her left to see a well-built blonde boy smiling at her.

"Figured me out already?" Kristoff said with a disbelieving chuckle, also drawing one out of herself.

"It's not exactly the newest trick in the book, Kristoff."

"Ya I know," he confessed with an unapologetic smile, "I'm nearly ready to go, but you should come see Sven," he said with raised eyebrows. Kristoff was a regular at Arendelle Stables and was in the last Saturday group lesson, but his horse Sven was a border there.

"Alright," Holly said curiously with a shrug and followed him down the hall toward his horse's stall. Holly particularly liked Sven: he was a bay North Swedish Horse who despite his heavy build, was a gentle, carrot-loving sweetheart. He was the kind of horse you could always go see when you felt terrible and he'd lift your spirits with nothing more than a nuzzle and sniff.

Holly didn't even need to follow Kristoff all the way down to Sven's stall to see what he was referring to. Sven stood patiently in crossties and although it was late June, Kristoff had dressed him up in a Christmas headstall that sported a nice pair of antlers.

Sven was clearly not impressed.

Holly stifled a chuckle when she saw Sven and went over to him. "Aw Sven, what is Kristoff doing to you?"

**"He's out to embarrass me," **Sven seemed to say from behind her in a burly voice. Kristoff had taken to answering for his horse for nearly as long as she had known him. As nerdy as it was, Holly liked it in all its weirdness.

"Well he is a little odd-"

"Hey!" Kristoff chided as he crossed his arms and spent the next few moments glaring at her.

"I love how Sven is all of a sudden speechless. Ever though that he'd agree with me?" Holly said with a smirk.

Kristoff did nothing more than roll his eyes at the situation. She could see a retort building in his mind until their spat was derailed by a crisp 'hello' above a set of clopping hooves on concrete.

Turning toward the barn's entrance to the pastures, a red-headed girl not much taller than Holly strode in confidently with her warmblood gelding. "Hey Kristoff, Hey Holly," Anna chirped as she set her horse in crossties and bounded over to them, red braids flying behind her.

"Hello Anna," the pair said almost simultaneously, causing everyone to laugh.

"So what's the game plan?" Anna asked eagerly. Her and Kristoff's lesson was the last one of the day so they could do anything they pleased afterwards.

"Should we go on a hack?" Kristoff suggested followed by Sven shaking his head violently. You could practically read the horse's mind: _I'm not going out in the fields in this getup_.

Seeing poor Sven dressed like that, Anna turned to Kristoff with her hands on her hips. "What are you doing to that poor horse? Look at him!"

"That's what I said," Holly agreed. She and Anna got along very well and were relatively alike in appearance. The only thing that told them apart was Holly being shorter, slighter and having curly honey hair rather than red braids. Their alabaster freckled skin though was uncanny despite Holly sporting more sun spots from being outdoors.

"He's fine," Kristoff said trying to wave both girls off, "so would you wanna go? We could check out the construction so far on the cross-country course," he added excitedly.

Anna made a face and turned back to her horse a few feet away. "I can't, I'd love to. My sister's supposed to be 'keeping an eye on me'," Anna emphasized with air quotes, "while my parents are away. If we met in town, I probably could go because Elsa probably won't hang out here."

Holly had heard about Anna's sister Elsa. It wasn't much but enough to know that she didn't seem like a horse nut. She thought about Anna's offer to hang out in the city but since her parents were usually adamant about curfews for her and the car, she decided against it.

"I'd like to but I haven't ridden Olaf all week. Plus, you know what my parents are like," Holly answered brusquely. Successive nods from the pair answered that and they all went off to their work. Holly got back to the stall she was working on but she didn't notice Kristoff had followed her there until he leaned against the stall door.

"Can we still go for a trail ride afterwards? I wanna talk to you about something without Anna around," he asked placing his hand behind his head, just like every other time he felt awkward.

"Okay Kristoff, you know where to find me when you're done the lesson."

Holly had finished up her work not long after Kristoff and Anna's lesson started. Once all her equipment was tidied and put away, she walked out to the pastures to fetch Olaf for his evening feed. With a piercing whistle, she saw the return to her call via pricked ears in the pasture. Olaf let out a little whinny before trotting over towards the gate.

"Hello handsome. How's the one-and-only man in my life?" she cooed to him once he reached her. Immediately he nuzzled her pockets hunting for treats. With a chuckle, she clicked the lead line to his halter and opened up the gate. "No treats until after dinner," she said with a smile as she led him indoors and to his stall where a nice array of hay and sweet feed awaited him.

After he was settled in and happily snacking, Holly climbed up to the hayloft like she usually did to sit and think. The hayloft was her personal hiding place. It was no secret since everyone knew she was always up there, but everyone respected her attachment to the dust-filled room and left her be up there. Initially, her thoughts were about her life and its comings and goings, then it drifted to her last words with Kristoff. His secrecy was unlike him and confused her and made her worried. Her thoughts were cut short though by the arrival of the thought source himself not long afterward.

"You daydreaming up here again? I thought we were going out!" he whined once he reached the top of the ladder.

"Alright, alright just gimme a sec! I had to let Olaf eat dinner anyway. You gonna move so I can get down?" she asked with mock impatience before climbing back down the ladder to the barn floor and heading to the tack room. Holly had to walk by Anna to get there and noticed she was taking longer than usual to get her horse untacked. "Need some help?"

"No I'm okay, thanks though," Anna responded quietly. Holly noticed the dirt stains on her clothes and initially thought she was quiet because she took a tumble, but Anna was usually still peppy after falls. Holly furrowed her brow worriedly as she walked into the tack room, grabbed a saddlepad and bitless bridle and headed back out to Anna.

"You sure? You don't seem yourself," Holly said leaning up against the wall to look at her friend. Anna was a year or two younger but Holly understood her nearly as much as she did herself.

"I'll be fine, you two have fun," she said with a hollowness to her voice and immediately Holly understood. She took the saddle from her friend's arms and gave her a hug Once she set it down.

"It won't be a regular thing, it wouldn't be fun without you. Plus, we all know me: Kristoff is really not my type so we won't get all gushy on you. I bet someday you and Kristoff will have trail rides without me and it'll be more fun than ours," Holly said trying to reassure her without rambling too much. Her words brought a half-hearted smile to her face which made Holly feel like there was more to it than Anna was telling her.

"Thanks Holly, you always know the best things to say," she said with a hint of sadness still in her voice and turned to look at Kristoff leaning against the doorway, "Don't have too much fun without me."

"Never do!" Kristoff called back and patted Sven who he held patiently while Holly finished tacking up Olaf. Once she was ready, all three of them headed out the doorway of the barn which lead towards the pastures and the parking lot. Holly watched Anna check the lot and set her gaze on a small silver hatchback: her sister's car.

"If you want Anna, I can lead Kai out to his paddock and you could go ahead and go with your sister," Kristoff suggested.

"Would you? Thanks a million Kristoff!" Anna exclaimed happily and passed off the lead line to Kristoff while Holly took the opportunity to mount up. Once she was seated on Olaf's back, she waved goodbye to Anna as she jogged off toward the car. She was just about to ask Olaf to follow Sven and Kai when a voice stopped her short.

"Sis, you're filthy! I brought an extra pair of shoes but not clothes so you'll have to wait until we're home to get changed."

Holly turned to see a beautiful young woman around her age who must have been Elsa. She was taller with platinum blonde hair that made Holly double take. Anna had conveniently left out the part that her sister was drop dead gorgeous. Despite the fact that her clothing was more comfort based, she still looked stellar. Though Holly didn't care about that sort of thing. She spent most of her life in a barn anyway.

"Hey you coming or what?" Kristoff called out to her, already having put Kai away. With one last look, Holly shook herself out of her daze and turned to trot after him.


	2. Girl and Boy Problems

"So what was so important that you had to tell me and that Anna couldn't hear?" Holly asked once her mind was back to the present and they were out of earshot from anyone who may have been fetching horses in the pasture.

Kristoff said nothing and began to look around at all the scenery around them. "It's pretty out here, let's go look at the cross-country run," he said quickly trying to change the subject.

"For the love of Pete!" Holly exclaimed, "Are you going to tell me what's on your mind or am I going to have to drag it from you?" she asked boring her eyes into his, trying to figure out what was so secretive. He was the one who wanted to come all the way out here and away from Anna…and therefore Elsa. _You haven't exchanged two words with her, why are you so interested? Oh right, because she's practically a goddess…_

Kristoff's sigh brought Holly back to reality and waited for his answer while he stopped Sven and let him graze while they stood in the field, still wearing that ridiculous headdress. After a long pause, he turned to her with a wistful look, "its girl problems."

"Girl problems?" Holly asked incredulously. Kristoff was a good looking guy with his pick of the girls on campus, she couldn't see how he of all people could have girl problems, unlike herself.

"Ya, girl problems. I thought you'd be the best one to ask since you are a girl, like girls and are my best friend," Kristoff said with the upmost sincerity. He had stuck by her side when she came out of the closet in high school. He was her friend when no one else would be and vowed to keep it a secret from her parents until she was ready. The fact that he considered her close to him was always an honor to her.

"Well then, what is it?" Holly asked while dropping the reins to let Olaf graze as well. She figured they would be a while so the Fjord may as well be occupied. Kristoff seemed edgy about the conversation and for good reason. Holly wished she could calm him down somehow so she could figure this out rationally. But before she could think of anything reassuring to say, he let it all out.

"I've really been feeling something about Anna for a long time, but there's no way she would reciprocate. I mean, she's all over her boyfriend Hans and it's not even like he doesn't come to the stables, he's in the EXACT same lesson so it's inescapable. Plus he's really good looking, rich and has a good-looking show horse and me, well-," Sven cut him off with a yank to the reins. **"You might be a burly chump but she likes me."**

Holly had seen Hans around the barn but made it her personal vendetta to avoid him at all costs. He was a rude and entitled snot which made Holly seriously question what Anna ever saw in him. "Kristoff, Anna cares about you a lot. She likes to hang around you."

"And you," Kristoff added.

"She seemed a bit disappointed that we went without her today," Holly added to help prove her point.

"She also was feeling poorly from the spill in her lesson. Plus, Hans getting a good laugh out of it didn't help matters."

Hearing this new information made Holly scowl. She was never private about her dislike of Hans but hearing this now, she was beyond fed up with him. Feeling so enraged at this Hans, Holly couldn't bring herself to do anything but mutter 'dipweed' icily under her breath. She was surprised to hear a rousing laugh out of Kristoff when he heard her.

"Seriously? Dipweed?" he asked between guffaws.

"I don't like him!" Holly said trying to defend her sad sounding insult. "He may be rich but at least your horse doesn't look like Olaf and Sven had a love child," she said trying to get back to the topic at hand. Both horses pinned their ears at the comment which fed to both their laughter.

"Okay, I see your point," Kristoff said becoming more serious throughout his response.

"Give it time, trust me. Someday, you and Anna will be so mushy I'll have to make sure you don't sop up the hay," Holly quipped with a smile. Now that Kristoff was in better spirits, she knew they could finally enjoy themselves, "Wanna go check out how the new cross-country course is doing?"

Kristoff grabbed his reins and nudged Sven forward, "Race you."

The two of them ran all over the countryside and returned to the stables as the sun was beginning to wane toward the horizon. Kristoff's stomach yowled the whole way back so they knew it must be getting close to dinnertime.

"I could eat an elephant," Kristoff complained as he took Sven's tack off and set him loose in his pasture for the night.

"One bite at a time they say," Holly chirped back as she did the same with Olaf in the adjacent paddock. Together, they carried their tack into the tack room and set everything in its place.

The tack room doubled as a lounge so it was easy to get their things. A short series of beeps alerted Holly to her cellphone which was sitting in her purse. Furrowing her brow in confusion, she swiped the screen to see who had texted her. It was Anna and her message was brief:

_Sleepover at mine? I need to talk w/ you_

Wondering if Anna wanted to talk about what happened today or something else, she quickly texted her Dad to let him know she was staying over at Anna's before responding:

_Sleeping at Anna's, don't expect me home_

A few seconds later, her phone beeped again with her father's response:

_K, but leave the car and walk over_

Holly gave a small snort and quickly texted Anna back. Her parents were very typical: they didn't care where their daughter was unless she had the car. The look on her face must have indicated something to Kristoff because when she looked up, he was watching her intently.

"Nothing serious, Anna wants me to sleep at hers to talk about something."

Kristoff nodded and fiddled with the billets on Sven's saddle. "Are you going to say anything about what we talked about?"

"Not if you don't want me to," Holly said firmly. If Kristoff wanted his secret held to the grave, she'd honor that wish.

"Only if she seems interested," he said looking a little nervous of the whole situation.

Holly walked over and gave him a hug before grabbing a change of clothes. "Kristoff, I'm practically your wingman. If you come up, I'm naturally going to make you look good. Though she knows a lot of that already," she said reassuringly.

"Thanks Holly," Kristoff said with a smile and exited the room so she could use the bathroom shower in privacy.

/-/

Holly walked up to Anna's house about forty-five minutes later with a change of clothes, two-bite brownies and a six pack of soda since she had a feeling Anna was in need of some serious cheering up. Holly had never been to Anna's house when anyone was around before, or she didn't notice. Apparently Elsa was always home but she seldom came out of her room. Feeling nervous about encountering the stunning girl in person, she hoped it would be just Anna around when she rang the doorbell. Luck seemingly wasn't on her side in that moment.

Elsa opened the door and looked at her with a reserved curiosity which made her chest tighten in anxiety and excitement. She didn't think she needed to explain where Anna knew her since she was wearing an Arendelle Stables t-shirt, and clearly Elsa concurred.

"Anna, your friend's here," she called up the stairs and swung open the door to let Holly inside. She sat down in a spacious chair in the living room and waited quietly for Holly to come in and make herself comfortable. "I don't believe we've met before. I'm Elsa," the blonde introduced herself politely.

"My name is Holly, it's nice to meet you," she answered quietly and took a seat on the sofa while Anna came partway down the stairs.

"Come on up to my room," Anna called and waved her friend over towards her. Without much thought, Holly stood up to go follow her but stopped when she saw Elsa watching her.

"Thanks for letting me stay. I promise I'm no psycho," Holly said trying to be friendly while paused to her spot. She didn't know why but she felt compelled to stay there. It could have also been because Elsa was quite entrancing.

"Anytime, just don't burn the place down," Elsa answered with a hint of lightness to her voice. It took a moment for Holly to realize she was kidding before smiling and following Anna upstairs.

She settled into the girl's room with the goods she brought but was mentally preoccupied with the encounter with Elsa. She seemed so mature, quiet and mysterious that Holly was enticed to learn more about Anna's sister, especially since she rarely ever talked about her.

"I'm sorry for dragging you all the way out here."

Anna's apology brought Holly's mind back to the present and she shook her head. "That's alright, I'm actually quite glad to not have to go home, but what's bothering you? You never text like that unless you're upset."

"I am upset," Anna noted softly and turned her eyes to the floor. Holly passed the bag full of brownies and pop to see if it made her friend feel any better. A small smile spread across Anna's face as she opened the bag of brownies and fiddled with one in her hands, "stuff's been going on lately and I don't know how to feel about it."

"What's up?" Holly asked worriedly.

Anna bit her lip in anxiety before eventually confessing what was truly bothering her. "Hans has been acting really different around me lately."

Holly raised an eyebrow for a short moment. Knowing the way Hans was around everyone else in the barn, she began to come to the conclusion that he had originally put on a façade for Anna. "How so?"

"He was so nice when we started dating, but now he's sarcastic and quick to poke fun at me. I thought I was just being sensitive at first but it's gotten worse since I said no…" she trailed off seeming suddenly embarrassed.

"Said no to what?" Holly asked curiously. She had a very good idea to what she was referring to but there were lots of things a girl could say no to. Hans did seem like the type of guy to throw a hissy fit if she said she wouldn't be his prom date or something like that.

"He wanted to take things to the next level and I said no."

This statement surprised Holly. Anna and Hans had been dating barely a month and he was already getting greedy? She let out a snort, equivalent to one Olaf would make which made Anna smile a bit. "He's being a dick because you value yourself enough to not just hand it over?!" Holly scoffed hotly, "He's not worth an ounce of your time Anna! You could do ten times better."

Anna looked up at her friend sadly as if she couldn't bring herself to believe that. "He's being so cruel now Holly. I fell off today because he made my horse spook and brought it on himself to be the laugh track once I hit the dirt!" Anna sniffed in near tears.

Hearing all of this made Holly want to find out where Hans lived and drill him into next week. "Why I outta," she muttered and went to stand but found Anna sitting her back down.

"Elsa already wants to kill him, I don't want a vigilante brigade!" Anna cried.

"Well that's one thing your sister and I clearly have in common-" Holly stopped short at what she had mindlessly fired back and immediately turned a deep shade of scarlet. Not only was it foolish since Anna was clearly upset, but comparing herself to Elsa made her heart skip a moment.

"Please, promise me you won't do anything," Anna pleaded.

Looking at the big eyes of her friend, Holly sighed and conceded, "Don't tell Kristoff though, he'd have Hans' head on a pike for doing that to you."

Anna nodded and smiled as if nostalgia had played an old memory in her mind, "he's protective like that when he cares for someone."

Holly nodded in agreement wondering if there happened to be a coincidence in feelings. "It is, which is why eventually I hope he gets the girl who's best for him," she said watching Anna's response, getting nothing from the girl's thoughtful expression. She had deliberately planted that seed. Now all she could do was wait to see if it manifested anything.

Anna's expression changed as she shifted from happy thoughts to unhappy ones and her eyes fell to that manhandled brownie. "What should I do about Hans then?" she eventually asked almost inaudibly.

"You're actually going to ask me a question about boys?" Holly said with a hint of sarcasm. When Anna nodded with every ounce of seriousness, she exhaled and nipped her lip, unsure of how to say it other than being blunt. "I think you should dump his ass."

Anna's eyes widened and she popped the brownie into her mouth to stop herself from protesting. As she chewed, Holly began to verify her point, "he really isn't worth your time and I'm worried he could turn out to be really abusive towards you. You deserve a guy who cares for you and respects your wishes, not some sissy blowhard."

They both sat in silence as Anna took in her words. After a while, she sat up and nodded confidently to Holly. "You're right, he isn't worth my time," Anna answered firmly which brought a well-needed smile to her face. Feeling much better about herself, she popped another brownie into her mouth and popped open a soda can.

"So, are you in a musical, suspence or fantasy movie mood?" Anna asked between brownie bites.


	3. Encounters with Elsa

Holly and Anna were indecisive about their movie choices until both girls eventually settled on watching RENT. It was Holly's favourite musical so she was more than happy to sing along with Anna, then sing quietly to herself when Anna drifted off to sleep. When the movie was over, Holly tucked the covers around Anna before taking off her reading glasses and slipping them into her bag. She powered down Anna's laptop and set it on the girl's desk.

Hearing a mumble from Anna, she turned to see that the redhead was still fast asleep in her bed and busied with dreams. Something else in her line of vision caught Holly's eye and she looked to see a neatly made bed was made for her out of a trundle drawer. This made Holly smile and shake her head at her sleeping friend. _That's what you were up to when you said you needed to look for something during Collins' alley scene._ Her original thought was that Anna didn't like watching the violence but the inviting bed made more sense to her. She was very tempted to snuggle up in that bed but her insistent bladder chimed in just in time. Cursing herself for drinking so many sodas that late, Holly tiptoed out of Anna's bedroom and went to find the bathroom.

She padded quietly down the hall and into the washroom before closing the door and sighing in relief that she didn't bother anyone. She turned from the door to see a dainty copy of Fingersmith sitting on the edge of the bathtub. Unsure of whose it was, Holly watched it curiously but left the book be as she went about her business.

As she washed her hands, she heard a light rap on the door. Thinking it was Anna having woken and not seeing her around, she swung open the door but inhaled quickly in surprise when her green eyes met blue ones.

"Oh, sorry to bother you. I forgot my book in here," Elsa whispered. Holly could see she was equally as surprised to see her and felt blood creeping into her cheeks. The sight of the pretty blonde girl captivated her for a moment until she realized she was in a daze again.

"That's ok," Holly answered and turned to grab it, giving herself a moment to hide her newfound rosiness. When she returned to the doorway with the book, she saw Elsa's eyes dance from her own to the book's title and watched the pale girl grow pinker.

"Thank you," she said softly and reached out to grab the book. When she placed her hand on the paperback, Holly felt one of her fingers brush her own. The feeling surprised her and she looked over to Elsa to see how she was fairing. The blonde had turned a deeper shade of pink and immediately dashed off towards her bedroom, leaving Holly standing there trying to make sense of what just happened.

/-/

Holly awoke to something tickling her nose. Trying not to sneeze, she sat up to see Anna hanging her head over the edge of the bed, braids dangling down in front of Holly.

"It's about time you woke up," she chimed happily.

Holly rubbed her eyes and tried to hide the fact that she had spent most of the night thinking rather than sleeping. "I guess working yesterday tired me out."

"Makes sense," the girl quipped, "I was busy thinking about how to fix the Hans situation while you dozed and I think I'll take my lesson on Sundays with you, if you don't mind it being semi-private," Anna asked laying her face over her forearms.

"I don't mind at all," Holly answered with a smile.

"That's good since I already called Mr. Oaken and he's willing to start today," Anna said bouncing slightly with a smile.

"Maybe we could make it a party and see if Kristoff would like to join us."

"Maybe," Anna remarked with a misty tone, "You hungry?" Anna asked sliding down to her cot. A persistent grumble emanated from Holly's stomach which answered her question for her. Anna laughed and linked their arms, "let's go eat."

Holly followed Anna down the stairs and over to the dining room. When they walked in, they both saw a fatigued Elsa bundled up in a large sweater as she mindlessly stirred her cereal.

"Up half the night again?" Anna asked tousling her sister's hair. With a swat from Elsa, Anna laughed and went into the kitchen, "you wait here and I'll get us some toast."

Holly was caught between saying 'here I'll help you' and avoiding her own awkwardness or happily enduring it to stay in the room with Elsa. Eventually she admitted that she had been standing in the same spot for too long so she pulled out a chair and sat down at the table across from the half-asleep girl.

When Holly eventually had the courage to look up from the edging on the table, she saw the blonde looking intently at her with a small smile. "Sorry about last night."

Holly dropped her gaze again as a blush spread across her cheeks, "that's ok. I've heard it's a good read if you like LGBTQ+ literature." Hearing a moment of silence, Holly looked back up at Elsa who was rubbing the back of her neck, clearly hiding a scarlet face. When her blue eyes connected with hers, a smile played across both of their faces.

"I haven't read far into it yet," Elsa answered, "But I'll let you know if it's any good."

"What's any good?" Anna answered with bowls, spoons and plates of toast. She looked curiously between the two girls whom were both caught off-guard.

"Coriolanus," Elsa sputtered quickly. Anna glanced confusedly at her sister until Elsa cleared her throat and mentioned that it was a Shakespeare play. Anna glared sideways skeptically at Holly who could do nothing but nod in agreement.

"I see," Anna answered before sitting beside Holly and passing her cereal and toast. Holly looked around the room to avoid eye contact with anyone right away until her gaze settled on a small copy of a Folgers Shakespeare book which sported the scripted words of 'Coriolanus'. Looking over to Elsa, she gave a small smile indicating that she knew the ruse.

Elsa crinkled her eyes in recognition and scooped up her bowl of soggy cereal. "I've got a paper to write, I'll see you around," Elsa said to both of them before going into the kitchen. When Holly heard Elsa walk through the hallway and up the stairs, she turned to look at her friend.

"Why have you never really mentioned Elsa before to anyone?" Holly asked curiously while Anna stuffed a piece of toast into her mouth.

"Cuz it seemed like I barely knew her until recently," she said with her mouth full of buttered toast. Seeing that Holly looked really confused as to why one barely knew one's own sibling, she swallowed and attempted to try and clarify, "for most of our childhood, Elsa was always in her room and rarely came out. It wasn't until she had to go to university and leave her room that I found out why."

Holly looked toward the dusty copy of Coriolanus, thinking back to what younger Elsa must have been like. "Was she just really shy?"

Anna shook her head and bit her lip, "I don't know if I should tell you why, she can be a bit secretive about it. Lately though, she's been more open and over the past few months we've been repairing our relationship."

"That's good, and you don't have to tell me," Holly said with a small smile and pulled her toast apart to bite sizes.

"Thank you, Holly. Maybe someday I'll be able to," Anna said brightly and turned her focus to the rest of her breakfast.

After some silence, Holly's mind began to wander back to the subject of Elsa and all of her mysteries. Her eyes focused back on the book and over to the doorway to the living room and the stairs. _What was it that made you so afraid of the world, Elsa?_

_/-/_

After lunchtime rolled around, Holly's cellphone went off. With a handful of cards, she juggled over half the deck in her hand and her cellphone.

_Any news I should know?_

It was Kristoff. Holly smiled thinking just how worried the poor guy probably was wondering how the sleepover was going to go.

_She's dumping Hans and we're riding today. U should come_

Once she sent the message, Holly put everything down in her hands and held them in a T shape. "Pause, remember what I said earlier about Kristoff joining us riding?"

"Ya," Anna answered quizzically.

"Are you opposed to it?"

"No, he's one of my best friends."

Holly paused for a moment, she hoped she hadn't in some way made Anna friendzone the poor guy. "Would you want him to join us today if he could?" she asked expectantly.

"Sure, the more the merrier," Anna replied with a smile, "plus you're bleeding."

Holly panicked and immediately checked her skin. It wasn't until she remembered what the saying meant in cards did she relax and look down at her exposed hand laying on the floor for all the world to see. With a chuckle, she waived it off and picked up her beeping cellphone, "we have to leave for the stables soon anyway."

_k just say when_

With a triumphant smile, she waited until Anna left to go get Elsa to send her response.

_1 hour_


	4. Hitchin' a Ride

"Please, please, please, PLEASE!?"

It was a little uncomfortable for Holly at just how insistent Anna could be sometimes. She waited to hear the news of transportation while Anna stood in the doorway to Elsa's room. Holly offered to walk back to her to grab the car or to text Kristoff but Anna was too determined to give in now.

"Isn't there another way you can get up there? I've got work to do," Elsa complained from somewhere in her bedroom.

"Holly didn't drive here so no there really isn't," Anna stated with a pout, "the lounge has WiFi if you need to do research."

"No, it's just the written I have left to do. Fine, I'll take you up."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Anna chirped and ran into the room, hearing a 'hey! Alright, alright already' Holly figured Anna was being her usual affectionate self and hugging Elsa more than the elder girl probably wanted. When Anna came back out, she held a smirk that just oozed pride in the victory.

"I told you she'd take us."

"Anna, are you sure this is okay? I mean won't Elsa be bored or grossed out by dirt?"

With a chuckle, Anna waved her hand, "she'll be fine. She supposedly has a paper to do, that'll keep her busy. She doesn't need summer courses yet she still takes them, I'll never understand."

Soon everyone was ready and began to head down to the car. Pulling a U of A sweater overtop herself, Elsa marched ahead of the two with the car keys in hand. Anna called shotgun which was fine with Holly, it was much less awkward to be in the back seat.

"So what's the paper for?" Anna asked Elsa as she drove.

"It's for my Gender and Sexuality Lit class," Elsa answered with her mind more on the road than the conversation.

"Pfft, you'll ace the thing. You're practically an expert in that field," Anna chimed happily, not noticing the shades of pink and red Elsa was turning in the front seat. Holly smiled at the situation but averted her eyes to the landscape outside when she met Elsa's gaze in the rearview mirror.

"You're at Arendelle U aren't you Holly?" Elsa asked trying to change the subject.

"Ya I am, it'll be my third year in the fall," Holly answered while turning to look at the blonde.

"Me too, what's your major?"

Holly hesitated before answering her question. Lots of people thought her major was silly, including her parents and she didn't want Elsa to think the same thing. "Dramatic arts," she whispered almost inaudibly.

Clearly, the blonde had excellent hearing because Holly noticed her eyebrows shoot up in the reflection of the mirror. "I wouldn't have originally pegged you for one. You're not flighty or filled with dreams of Broadway from the looks of it."

"Not everyone in our department is like that," Holly snipped defensively, "it can be a stable career option."

"I see." Elsa's reply was short but it told Holly enough. Her reaction had upset her and she felt guilty for it. The rest of the car ride was filled with a heavy silence until they drove down the extensive driveway.

"I'm getting Kai, see you in the barn!" Anna called out as she bolted from the car. _Smart girl, she knows when to run from extreme awkwardness when she notices it. God, you really know how to be social. _

As both she and Elsa got out of the little silver hatchback, Holly walked around the car to Elsa's side. "Could you walk with me a second?"

The question, never mind its urgency, surprised Holly more so than it did Elsa. The shorter girl could have kicked herself for letting her mouth act on impulse but to her surprise, she saw Elsa nodding. They both headed over towards Olaf's pasture when Holly finally built up the nerve to address Elsa properly.

"I'm sorry I was snippy earlier, I was out of line."

"No, you had good reason to. I'm sorry for lumping you into a stereotype," Elsa said though Holly could tell by her posture that she still held some guilt.

"It's ok, I understand that it's not always considered a desirable career choice and I respect that. There are some who seem full of dreams but sometimes having dreams can be beneficial," Holly said trying to make the other girl feel more at ease. It seemed to work as a smile played across Elsa's face.

"So theatre…have you actually read Coriolanus then?"

Holly let out a small chuckle thinking back to that morning and scratched the back of her head, "I may or may not have the entire Shakespeare collection in my bedroom. So yes, I have."

Elsa laughed and seemed to nod in approval of the girl's taste in literature. Seeing Elsa like this satisfied Holly in a way that she didn't really understand, like she felt like she had done something completely right. It was also in that moment that she was brought out of her daze by the nuzzling of a certain someone for treats and affection.

"Hello handsome," Holly greeted the Fjord the same way as every day.

"Who's this?" Elsa asked watching Olaf with a reserved curiosity.

"This is Olaf, Olaf this is Elsa," Holly said introducing the pair. Seeing the newcomer, he pricked his ears and walked along the fence over to the blonde and extended his neck out to her.

"He doesn't bite, I promise," Holly said reassuringly when she saw Elsa eying him warily, "but he likes warm hugs," she added before clicking the lead onto his halter and opening the gate.

"He does, does he?" Elsa asked still fearful of the creature that was ironically shorter than her.

"That he does, or even just a neck rub keeps him happy," Holly offered, giving another option for the nervous girl to get used to him.

With a small nod, Elsa extended a hand out to the Fjord's neck. Holly kept Olaf's head busy so he didn't get too curious with Elsa letting the blonde stroke his neck and grow confident enough to give him little scratches.

Holly smiled when Elsa's endeavours were rewarded with Olaf licking his lips. "See? He's pretty happy," she said trying to hide her building excitement when she looked over at Elsa.

"Do you think he likes me?" she asked lightly.

"Trust me, he loves you." _And so do you…wait what? _

"Hey pipsqueak! Are you gonna stay up there all day smoozing that poor animal?" Kristoff called from the edge of the barn, completely breaking her concentration, "C'mon we're almost ready to go!"

/-/

Falling into a nearly hypnotic rhythm, Holly posted gently as Olaf trotted around the outdoor ring, dodging low branches with near finesse as they went around.

"Canter!" Mr. Oaken called from the centre of the ring, instinctively causing Holly to press her outside leg back and urge Olaf forward into a fluid rocking horse-like gait. His quick little strides pitter-pattered as they tried to keep up with Kirstoff and Sven and Anna and Kai. The other two horses had longer legs giving them an advantage, but Olaf didn't seem to mind as he clattered after his pals.

"Wee! Look at me Elsa!" Anna called out to her sister. Elsa had decided to work from a picnic table nearby which gave her an excellent view of the arena. That is, when she looked up from her laptop.

"You look lovely Anna, like pure grace," her sister said sarcastically with a smile that only made Holly wonder how anyone could get offended. When she saw Anna stick her tongue out, Holly watched the pair laugh for a short second before returning her own gaze to the task at hand.

"Alright you three can take a break while I set up the course, ya?" Mr. Oaken said and immediately set up some small verticals and x's for Anna and Kristoff.

"Are you still making Sven wear that decorated bridle?" Holly asked incredulously when she stopped and saw Sven wearing antlers yet again.

**"See the torture I endure?" **Sven whined until Anna joined the two.

"It is torture Kristoff, don't make him wear it."

Kristoff watched the redhead who was looking at him both as if she were joking and serious. "Okay Anna," he eventually answered with relative seriousness.

Anna blinked and turned her head for a moment, "wait what? Are you actually going to get Sven a regular English bridle?"

"Sure, if you don't like it."

Anna looked over at Holly as if to say 'now I have seen everything'. Holly merely shrugged and looked over toward the picnic table to see how intense Elsa was getting into her project. When she saw blue eyes looking back at her though, she quickly averted her gaze to the pommel on her saddle.

"Okay, Anna you first then you Kristoff. Just a simple course," Mr. Oaken said walking over to stand with Holly in the little safe zone. The way Mr. Oaken set up the course, they would be out of everyone's way where they stood.

"Alright," Anna smiled daringly and urged Kai into a canter. Holly wordlessly watched Anna as she made her way around, flying over the course as if it were child's play, and finally slowing down to join them. "Flawless as usual," she said pompously.

"Hah, get ready to witness perfection," Kristoff challenged and went on to tackle the course himself. He was doing so well until Sven's hoof caught the top rail of the last vertical, bringing it crashing down.

"Some perfection!" Anna teased when he returned.

"We all know the cup on that jump is way too shallow anyway," Kristoff said trying to defend his case with no avail. Holly shook her head at the two of them and waited for Mr. Oaken to finish adjusting the course to match her level.

"Okay Holly, I extended it by 5 more jumps. Do the same thing as Anna and Kristoff then turn to the rail and do the gymnastics and last jump," Mr. Oaken stated.

Holly looked up at the series of jumps and set her eyes on the very last one: a Swedish oxer. That style of jump had been the bane of her and Olaf's existence ever since she started jumping. Her eyes quickly darted back to the picnic table to see that Elsa was no longer just gazing, but had lowered her laptop screen to watch her with the utmost of anticipation. Swallowing her fear, Holly nudged Olaf onward.

Trying to focus on the task at hand, she fell into an easy rhythm and set Olaf up for the first jump. He flew over it with ease and carried on towards the next few as he did the first. Holly rode with him feeling the freedom and joy that graced her every time they trained. Once they cleared the original course, Holly smiled with a newfound energy and set Olaf up for the gymnastic. He popped over them with ease and grace despite the choppiness of the setup. Finally, she was approaching her doom.

As they sped toward the Swedish oxer, Holly felt a hint of panic in the pit of her stomach. Knowing that would make Olaf falter, she banished it and glared at the fence with focus as they cantered toward it. As she grew close, she realized there was a possibility they could clear it, but her eyes were stuck on the criss-crossing rails.

_Don't look at the fence, look over it. _Years of jumping training kicked in as she snapped her eyes up and through the standards to focus on something on the other side. When she saw blue eyes, she couldn't look away.

It wasn't until she heard applause and whoops from Anna and Kristoff that Holly was able to slow Olaf down to a walk and blink in astonishment. "Did I actually clear it?"

"Clear it!? You soared over that like it was nothing!" Kristoff said proudly thumping her on the shoulder once she reached him.

"I knew you could do it!" Anna chirped happily.

"Congratulations Holly and to all of you, you did well today. Go cool your horses off, you deserve a break," Mr. Oaken said with a smile before heading over towards the barn.

Holly looked over toward the picnic table to see if Elsa was still watching. Her heart faltered a moment when she saw the girl's laptop sitting back up but felt much giddier when she saw her eyes busied in her work but very much framed in scarlet.


	5. Friends among Weasels

I just realized I never introduced myself. So hello all, I'm Parouse. This is the first fanfic I've written that I've been brave enough to expose to the outside world so enjoy!

Because of school and holidays, there might be some space between updates but usually I'm pretty regular.

* * *

For a couple of weeks, Holly had buried herself in her job and her trips to the barn. Her home life was seldom, just the way she liked it. It made tensions between herself and her family much easier when she wasn't home very often. She even admitted that if she had the money, she probably would have gone away to school. _Maybe, you would have hated it if you couldn't ride though._

Not long after that interesting Sunday lesson, Anna's parents returned home from their vacation and Elsa went back to doing her school things. Their routine had gone back to normal where Anna's parents dropped her off and picked her up or ferried her around if she met up with her or Kristoff outside the stables. Holly had to admit after a while that she was sensing a pang of disappointment when Anna arrived in a car that wasn't the silver hatchback that Elsa drove.

It was a Thursday night and Holly had noticed that she was becoming exhausted. She had worked solid 8 hour days for the past 2 weeks and had been going straight to the stables until late at night to keep herself busy, paid and out of the house. Heavy with fatigue, she tried to make sure everything was done but kept making stupid little mistakes. For example, Holly had been struggling with a bale of hay. Usually she could sling one around like it was nothing but wearing herself thin was getting the better of her.

Upon seeing Holly so out-of-character, Mr. Oaken walked over to see how the slight girl was doing, "Are you feeling alright Holly?"

"I'm just fine Mr. Oaken, just a bit tired," she answered truthfully. She had always figured that Mr. Oaken knew something was going on in her home life but respected her privacy and knew not to ask.

"Okay, take a break if you need it, ya?" he called out on his way to the indoor ring to set up for the first evening lesson. Holly managed to nod in response before turning back to lugging her bale of hay.

She had just finished pulling it into one of the stalls when she heard short, curt footsteps and grumbling voice from a couple of stalls down from her. Not knowing who it could have been, she stepped out into the stable hall and looked through the stall window to see Hans was in his horse's stall.

_Oh shit._ Holly really wasn't in the mood to deal with him. She turned to walk away but she could tell by his classic little snort that he had seen her.

"Oh it's _you_," he sneered and walked out of the stall to get a better look at her.

"What is it you want Hans? Is there a speck of dirt in your horse's stall that doesn't meet your approval?" Holly snapped. She usually didn't suffer fools well but now that she was tired and run-down, she really wasn't one to contend with.

"Actually I was going to say that your idea of washing out buckets is clearly flawed. Thank god Mr. Oaken doesn't pay you."

She was really not in the mood to even consider fighting with this pompous idiot, so Holly just gave him a deadpanned glare as if to say _are you finished? _before turning to walk away again.

"So I'm sure you've heard the news," Hans called out after her. If he was looking for a pity party from her, than he was beyond stupid.

"Ya, Anna dumped you and I'd say it was about time. The fact that she dated you in the first place appalls me but some take longer to see a toad from a prince," Holly turned smirking proudly in Hans' direction. Even though she wasn't involved in the situation, she was still going to bathe in his shortcomings.

"So that's what she told you?" Hans replied smoothly, trying to cover up his mistakes.

"I already knew. She deserves a guy who loves her for more than just a roll in the hay," Holly spat.

Hans let out a chuckle, "actually I switched nights just to let Anna feel more at ease in the lessons." It was a lie Holly caught onto quickly. He only switched because he knew Kristoff would pound his precious little behind and wanted to avoid the confrontation. When he saw her glaring at him, he gave her a patronizing look, "so naïve. Oh well, you'll soon learn the ways of the world."

"Okay Socrates," Holly replied sarcastically before turning her back and making her way over to the tack room and away from him.

Holly kept herself busy with work until Hans' lesson was over. She decided to retreat to the hayloft at least until he was gone to spare herself his idiocies. Once she was settled up there though, it was easy to lose track of time. She found her mind busied with thoughts of the summer months, home and finally girls.

_You are shameless_ she scolded herself with a smile and let her mind wander through her past and let it ponder the future. Elsa had come up though less frequently than she used to in her mind leading Holly to scold herself for her infatuation. It even let her focus on any possibility that there was of love, though that was also quite a foreign subject to her.

"Umph, c'mon boy!"

A voice from downstairs caught Holly's attention. Not recognizing it, Holly shuffled over to the ladder and peered out the opening to see a brunette struggling to get her school horse out of his stall. With a small smile, Holly grabbed a fistful of hay before climbing down the ladder and walking over.

"He's pretty bad for that but bribery usually works," Holly said to catch the girl's attention. When she saw the girl's startled brown eyes meet hers, she held up her empty hand in greeting. "I'm Holly."

"Serena, nice to meet you," the girl said as she began to relax, "you startled me."

"Sorry about that, I keep forgetting that I'm more than just a shadow in the stables," Holly said lightly. Serena was quite an attractive young lady: her hair was a very dark brown to near black and her skin had a slight copper tint to it. Holly assumed she had switched lessons or was new since she would have remembered someone like her. "Are you new?"

Serena nodded slightly, "to Arendelle Stables but not to riding. I've ridden practically since I could walk."

Holly nodded impressed and turned her attention to the school horse Serena had been assigned. His showname was Duke of Weaseltown but everyone called him Weasel since he looked like one. Weasel was watching the handful of straw with obvious interest which caused her to smile. "Shall we?"

Serena looked at the handful of hay and nodded with a smile before led him out mere paces behind Holly as they walked him to his pasture. Once he was inside the enclosure, Holly fed him the hay while Serena took off the lead line. When they both left the pasture and closed the gate, Serena turned to Holly with a coy smile.

"Thanks for your help."

"My pleasure," Holly responded with an overarching bow that brought a good laugh from both of them.

On their walk back toward the parking lot, Serena smiled and tugged on the shoulder of her shirt. "So you're a U of A student too?" she asked with a smirk. If the Arendelle IMPROV team shirt didn't give her away, she didn't know what else could have.

"Ya I am, drama major," she noted with slight hesitation.

"That's cool, I'm in Visual Arts," Serena chirped.

"Nice," Holly said with an air of approval of the girl's program. On the occasion, students from those departments would take courses amongst each other so it was very likely they got to know other students in other fine arts-based programs.

"There are some nice looking guys in the drama department," Serena said with a curious glance. Holly knew what she was getting at and let out a small laugh.

"Well some of them are about as gay as me so either way, it's a no-go," she answered coyly. Holly wasn't usually this relaxed when coming out with new people but she had a feeling that Serena wouldn't be bothered by it, and she was right.

"Well no that would be too advantageous," the girl responded with a giggle to her voice. "But still, someone as pretty as you, you must have your pick of the litter."

Holly turned a bit pink and looked down at her feet, "not always." When Holly managed to look up again, she actually saw a look of surprise on Serena's face.

"People are weird," she said shaking her head. When Holly let out a little laugh, she was returned with a smile from her. It was odd, they had met only minutes before but instantly they were getting along famously. It was nice to have another friend like that again.

"Well this is me," Holly said as they entered the parking lot and drew close to an old green sedan that used to be her parents' until they got a brand new red coupe to flit around town in. Holly wasn't ungrateful though, it was nice to drive the old beater around.

"Aw and our conversation was just getting interesting," Serena said with exaggerated disappointment. "How often are you up here?"

Holly smiled and waved towards the hayloft. "I practically live here. But in all seriousness, 4 out of the 7 days a week I'm up here working so I'll always be around.

"Good, I'm glad to have made a friend so soon," Serena admitted a little bashfully. The sentiment in the girl's words really touched Holly and made her feel quite accomplished.

"Thank you for considering me a friend," Holly nearly whispered.

"No, thank you," Serena said happily and turned to go walk to her car.


	6. Reorientation

"C'mon Holly, we're gonna be late!"

"Calm down, Regina. I can only drive as fast as the cars ahead of me are going," Holly laughed as they drove over toward the University of Arendelle's main campus.

Regina was Holly's cousin and was coming down from her home in the North Mountains for school. A couple of days after Holly met Serena, her parents cornered her when she came home from a coffee date with her and demanded that she take Regina to the university's orientation day when Regina was down. Thinking this must have been their version of some sort of punishment, Holly agreed solemnly but actually couldn't wait to take her little cousin.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so excited!" the girl quipped as she bounced in her seat. Regina had decided since they were kids that she was going to come down to Arendelle for school. Once she had found out about all the amenities that were here and had become the best of friends with Anna, there was no way she was changing her mind.

Soon they had entered the campus and Holly was being ushered around by fellow students in reflective vests. When she approached one of her classmates, she rolled down the window. "Hey sexy, where do I park?"

The taller boy clad in reflective tape just laughed and leaned up against the car. "Last I checked Holly, you're no freshman. What're you doing here?"

"My baby cousin's starting the path to her career here at U of A," she said with a rather posh attitude.

"Hi!" Regina waved ecstatically from the passenger side.

"Greetings relative of Holly's," the boy said with a smile, "what will you be going into?"

"Business," Regina chirped happily. Holly couldn't help but make a horrible face. No one, in her opinion, should be that excited about business but she was happy so long as Regina was.

With a laugh, Holly's friend waved them over towards a string of parking lots, "T Lot is probably your best bet but if you can get in closer be my guest."

With a heavy groan, Holly smiled and eased off the brake. "Thanks man, see you in September!" Once the window was all the way up, her cousin let out a sigh equaling that of Holly's frustration.

"T Lot! It'll take us forever to get to the main building!" she whined.

Holly was about to try and reassure her cousin when she saw a car pull out from A Lot a good distance up. "There may be hope for us yet!" she said and putted onward to find the spot that initially belonged to that car. After a few moments, they were in A Lot and slid into a parking spot just big enough to fit the sedan. "Holly: 1, U of A Parking Services: 0," Holly smirked and turn to look over towards Regina but saw that she was already out of the car.

"Hurry up Holly!" she called out behind her as she trotted quickly over to the building that held the registration desks.

The two of them spent the morning doing Holly's version of a campus tour followed by a liaison-organized residence tour since Holly knew nothing about residence. As they looked at the different types of dorm rooms, Holly noticed that she was more interested in them than Regina was. "Something up?" she asked tugging her cousin to the back of the crowd.

"Why do I have to stay in rez? Can't I just live with you? Aunt Maude and Uncle William said I could!" she said trying to persuade her older cousin.

With a slight eyeroll, Holly leaned up against the concrete wall. "The Aunt Maude and Uncle William you know are aliens, not my parents. They're really conservative people so if you wanted to do the things university student want to do as a rite of passage, you'd have to live in rez. Trust me, I would have lived in rez if they let me."

"If you say so," Regina sighed, "so what exactly couldn't I do if I lived with you?" she asked trying to push the envelope a bit.

Holly laughed, "Everything!" When Regina gave her a flat gaze, she decided to fill her in. "If you wanted to go to parties or have an 'intimate' relationship with someone, you couldn't in my house."

"Point taken," Regina nodded getting what her cousin was hinting at. "I'll let Mom and Dad know that I want the on-campus experience," she said with a chuckle before turning towards the group. With that, the pair caught up and went to look at even more dorm rooms.

Once the tour was over, there was just enough time to walk from the last dormitory back to the main building for the Business department presentation. Regina wanted to see what U of A had to say about business so Holly conceded and walked over with her cousin. When they reached the lecture hall that held said lecture, Holly patted her cousin on the arm.

"You go listen to all their academic drawl while I grab us a table in the cafeteria for lunch once you're done."

"But the lecture is at least an hour. Sure you don't wanna keep me company?" Regina teased.

"Oh trust me, I'm good," Holly answered and held up a book to dispel any worry that her cousin may have of her being bored. Once Regina walked into the lecture hall, Holly turned around and walked the few paces between there and the staircase up to the dining hall.

Once she was up on the next floor, Holly walked into the cafeteria and grabbed a 500mL carton of chocolate milk to tie her over. Once she paid, she walked into the dining hall to look for a table. Her search didn't last long before a platinum blonde seated at one of the bar stools caught Holly's eye. Feeling a hint of anxiety over whether or not to go over, she thought of the drama theorist Grotowski and let her impulse take her over towards Elsa. Once she was there however, she was lost for words and could only stutter out a simple 'hi'.

Looking up from her textbook with a hint of surprise, Elsa crinkled her eyes a bit when she recognized her. "Hey, what're you doing here?"

"My cousin is here for orientation day," Holly answered sheepishly. With no one else around, she found herself oddly shy around Elsa at the present moment. When she saw the girl look at the contents of her arms with a smile, Holly couldn't help but return the gesture. "Keeps my brain in tune and fends off osteoporosis," she answered plunking the milk and book onto the bar and sliding onto a stool.

"Good plan," Elsa said with a nod and shut her book to focus more so on the smaller girl.

Holly looked at the cover of the text and raised an eyebrow, "Gender and Sexuality: A Sociological Point of View?"

Elsa rolled her eyes slightly and rested her cheek in her palm. "It's for my major, I'm in sociology. Plus having an interest in the subject doesn't hurt," Elsa replied and looked up intently at Holly, as if she were studying her reaction.

"That's true, I'd say it's the same for me with my personal interest in feminist and queer theatre," Holly said looking back at Elsa, coming out to her in the same way.

Holly was pleased to see Elsa's expression turned from anticipatory to being relaxed as she began to smile again. Holly couldn't help giving into its contagiousness and did the same. The eye contact between the two was like that of a staring contest but without the awkwardness. Elsa eventually broke it though to look at the book that Holly had brought herself.

"Samuel Beckett?" Elsa asked with a curious glance.

Holly's eyes darted to her shoes for a second before looking back up at Elsa. "Mhm, you wanna talk weird post-dramatic theatre," she said with a small smile. In truth, Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot was one of her favourites despite its oddities.

"It was an optional reading for an existentialism lecture I had in first year," Elsa admitted quietly, "I actually really liked it."

Hearing that made Holly feel so elated that she couldn't help but let it show. "I have a feeling we're going to get along famously."

For the next two hours, Holly and Elsa talked about all sorts of things from books to future plans and eventually to horses.

"I know Anna told me that you're always at the barn but geez, you practically live there," Elsa chuckled when Holly finally ceased a rambling tirade about Arendelle Stables.

"Practically, I'm surprised Mr. Oaken hasn't offered to rent out the hayloft to me," she replied trying to hide her embarrassment from babbling and a pang from having to avoid her home life. Eventually she decided maybe shifting the focus was a better idea, "So, horses never been your thing?"

Elsa shrugged timidly and began to fiddle with the edges of her textbook, "they've always intimidated me."

Holly nodded, "it's the size isn't it?" she asked knowing that was what usually freaked people out.

Elsa looked up with a hint of anxiety in her features as she shook her head. "I never really had much exposure to animals growing up so I guess the skepticism comes naturally," she answered looking out through the glass wall in front of them that exposed a good view of the building's lower floor.

"Well I can speak for horses and usually they're not bad. They're pretty much the same as people. They can feel happy, sad, upset or bored and there are days that they'll tell you this just like a person," Holly explained while looking longingly at Elsa's misty gaze. When the girl finally turned to look at her, understanding in her eyes, Holly decided to test her theory, "why not come up with Anna someday and I'll show you? You remember how great Olaf was with you last time."

Holly's gaze bored imploringly into Elsa's, feeling an inner wanting to spend more time with the blonde. Elsa dropped her eyes to her textbook and contorted her mouth into a grimace, "but my schoolwork."

"When's your exam?"

"In two days," Elsa stuttered nervously. Holly could tell that she cared a whole lot about her studies and the prospect of writing an exam on a subject that one has a vested interest in was nerve-wracking. Extending her hand, she placed it reassuringly over the blonde's alabaster arm. Her skin was cool to the touch which brought Holly present to the moment as she looked up at Elsa.

"You'll do great," she said with a small smile, not daring to move her hand in case it sparked a blush that was already threatening to creep forward.

Elsa looked down at her hand and crinkled her eyes slightly. "Thank you."

"Holly! The presentation's over and I got us lunch!" The robustness of her cousin's voice made Holly want to practically jump out of her skin. Seeing that her hand was still on Elsa's arm, she slid it off before Regina made it all the way over to them. But seeing how her cousin was looking at her, she could tell she had already seen it.

"Elsa, this is my cousin Regina. Regina, this is…my friend Elsa," Holly stammered still in a bit of shock. When she realized she had introduced Elsa as a friend, she looked over to the blond worried she'd said something wrong. Considering her blue eyes had a twinkle in them, Holly assumed she was safe.

"It's nice to meet you. I'd love to stay and talk but I have to go. Review lecture," Elsa said holding up her textbook, "I'll see you around?"

"Of course, come up to the stables sometime. I promise we don't bite," Holly called out after her and turned to look at Regina. Her cousin cocked her head with curiosity as Elsa left then eventually sat herself in Elsa's old seat. Regina wordlessly read her cousin for a moment then turned to her lunch.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Regina said with a knowledgeable smirk and bit into her sandwich.


	7. To Build or Burn Bridges

A/N: I'm going to be out of the country for the next few days so this'll have to tie you guys over for now :P

* * *

Laying stretched over a hay bale, Holly groaned thinking of Regina's visit which ended only yesterday. She had briefly filled Serena in on her cousin finding out that she was a lesbian and thumped her palm onto her forehead when she told her about the two days afterwards.

"I told Regina before we got home that she absolutely couldn't let it slip since my parents would really not be okay with it. She agreed but good grief she knows how to flirt with a fine line."

"How so?" Serena asked while currying Weasel's coat.

"I can't count how many times she mentioned that I am boyfriendless and have been since the tenth grade and calling me out when I'd find myself in a daze."

"Well she is a relative."

"Essentially the sister I never had," Holly groaned holding her hands over her eyes, "how do you manage it? Especially with five brothers!"

Peeking out between fingers, she saw Serena shrug and continue to lift his hooves and pick his feet. "It's hard to say since I haven't known any different."

Holly sat up with a nod and brushed the stray pieces of straw from her hair. She looked over her shoulder into Olaf's stall to see he was done with his dinner. "Screw this mind shit," she said referring to the many things that were occurring in her brain and watched Serena go and return again with Weasel's tack, "Wanna try out the cross-country course once your lesson's over?"

Serena slung the saddle onto the horse's back and nodded, "sure but we should be back here before dark."

Holly nodded and got up to go pet Olaf for a bit. She waved when Serena took Weasel out of his stall and headed towards the ring. A few moments later, she heard approaching hooves and looked out Olaf's stall window. Hans past by the pair with a wicked smirk that made Holly's hair stand on edge.

Once the hour-long lesson began to pick up, Holly walked over to the tack room and back over to Olaf's stall. The fjord nickered to her and extended a muzzle out to sniff the tack.

"C'mon handsome, the new cross-country course is ready and we're going to break it in!" she chirped happily as she fettered with the buckles on the saddle and bridle, making sure that he was ready for when the lesson was over. She suited him up and led him out of the barn just in time for the riders in the lesson to leave the outdoor ring and walk around the pastures to cool off. Seeing Serena exit the ring, she waved her over and mounted up beside the barn.

"Gee, no grass grown under your feet," Serena smiled as she and Weasel made their way over to them.

"Nope, I'm excited to get over there. Plus, the more I avoid Hans the better," she snipped trying to look for the auburn-haired creep but saw no sign of him. _He's probably already in the barn._

"Well then, let's go," Serena replied and nudged Weasel into a trot as they headed out towards the forest that held the brand new course.

Holly and Serena laughed and joked as they trotted over towards the start of the course but something made Holly feel on-edge and she didn't like it. Seeing that the sun was going to set within the next hour, they both had decided that maybe once through was best for time. Holly chalked up her uneasiness to the lack of time and stopped Olaf close to the first obstacle: a log vertical.

"Well who's first?" Serena asked with a hint of nervousness to her voice. Serena had admitted to Holly before that cross-country was not her strong suit so Holly decided it was probably best she commence.

"How about I start and I'll let you know how it is," she suggested. A rustle from a small glen nearby made her whip around at the sound. Seeing nothing, she furrowed her brow and turned back to the brunette.

"Sounds good to me," Serena admitted with relief.

"Alright then, let's show 'em who's boss, eh Olaf?" Holly said easing the fjord into a fluid canter before approaching the first jump. When he sailed over it, she let out a whoop of enjoyment hoping that made its way back to Serena.

Cantering along the paths through the woods, the pair popped over a chicken coop jump, an oxer with a hedge in the middle and a small combination. Throughout their ride, Holly could have sworn she heard a second set of hoof beats but pushed it to the back of her mind to focus on the task at hand.

She rounded a corner towards another jump but a blur of red and yellow dashed in front of them, spooking Olaf into stopping and rearing. Holly tried to hang on but found herself in a mixture of being thrown and just falling straight off. She saw the flash of what cut them off, then everything went black.

/-/

When Holly finally woke up, she took note that she was in a hospital. Feeling very out of it, she moaned and tried to look around. When she shifted, a searing pain erupted in her chest that knocked her breathless. Trying to catch her breath again, she stayed still until the pain ebbed to just a throbbing in her forearm. Looking down, Holly saw that her wrist was bound in a plaster cast.

"Damn it," she cursed and tried to sit up but the pain stopped her as well as a large hand on her shoulder.

"You stay still Holly or you'll hurt yourself more, ya." It was Mr. Oaken. It took a moment for Holly to think of why he was here and could only come up with that whatever happened to her must have been at the barn.

"Oh thank god, you're awake," Serena sighed as she came in with coffee and sandwiches for the two of them, "I was so worried."

"What happened?" Holly moaned and tried to shift unsuccessfully.

"I don't really know," Serena answered sounding worried, "A few minutes after you started the course, I heard Olaf scream and knew something was wrong. I followed the course and found you unconscious partway through. You don't remember anything?"

Holly shook her head gently until the flash reappeared in her mind, stunning her for a moment, "all I remember is a flash of red and yellow."

She looked over at the pair who looked equally as confused as she was. Serena and Mr. Oaken exchanged glances before settling their gaze back onto her.

"Nothing was there when I found you," Serena replied thinking intensely back to the moment it occurred. Seeing Serena reflect frustratingly to find the answer brought a pang of guilt to the dirty blonde's heart. Defying the pain that wrapped around her torso, she extended a free hand out to her.

A cheery polka ringtone snapped everyone's attention to Mr. Oaken's phone. He pulled it out and looked to Holly. "It's your parents, it took me a while to get a hold of them," he explained before flipping the phone open and heading out of the room. "Hello?...Yes Mr. and Mrs. Sundström Holly's here at the General…she fell off and is beat up quite considerably…a concussion, broken wrist and bruised ribs…I'll meet you out front, ya?"

_Bruised ribs, no wonder it's impossible to move._ She complained mentally with a wince. After Mr. Oaken was clear from view, Serena took Holly's extended, undamaged hand and rubbed the top of it with her thumb. "I'm sorry," she confessed quietly.

"What're you sorry for? A) Jumping the course was my idea, B) you were nowhere near me when it happened I'm assuming and C) you and Weasel aren't red and yellow so it's not your fault," Holly answered firmly. There was no way she was going to let Serena beat herself up over Holly's own stupidity.

Serena kept her eyes on the floor and shuffled her boots across the linoleum, "still, it feels like I could have been able to prevent it."

"Serena, you're good but you're not god. I'll heal and maybe I'll actually be able to finish the course eventually," Holly chuckled but the pain from the bruising quickly made her stop. She looked over to her friend who was looking back at her with a depth of sympathy that Holly had rarely seen people offer to her.

After a few moments of eye contact, Serena broke it and feverishly searched her purse for something. Holly watched her with idle curiosity until she pulled out a pen and an old faded receipt. She quickly scrawled something down, folded it and grabbed Holly's casted arm. Despite her squawking, Serena managed to slide the paper beneath the plaster so all Holly could see was a little corner. "Open it if you need anything," she said and tucked the pen back into her purse.

Only a couple seconds later, the sound of running footsteps rang out to both Holly and Serena as they increased in volume. Holly already knew it wasn't her parents since they would never have ran to her even if she laid dying. It was only when Anna and Elsa flew into the room was her query answered.

"Oh my goodness, Holly! Hans told me everything, I am so sorry! Are you hurt? Oh god, you're broken! I mean, not broken but you broke your arm and crap that's gotta hurt!" Anna rambled non-stop as she fussed around her bed-ridden friend. If Holly's brain hadn't been knocked around like scrambled eggs, she might have been able to understand her.

"What's going on?" she asked feeling overcome.

"Anna, slow down. You're overwhelming her," Elsa said and grabbed her sister to stop her from running around like a chicken with its head cut off. She turned to look at Holly who was looking between the two rather sheepishly, "I'm sorry about all this, we shouldn't have come until you were feeling a bit better."

"No!" Holly jumped a bit and winced as her ribs shot another barb of pain throughout her torso, "no, I'm glad you came. Thank you." She smiled at Elsa not knowing any other way to show how she truly was grateful.

When she looked away from Elsa and Anna over to Serena, she noticed that the brunette was reserved in her posture and words. She flitted her eyes between Elsa and Anna then Holly and Elsa before standing and turning toward Holly. "I better go, but you know where I am if you need anything," she said before looking at Elsa coolly on her way out.

With a hint of confusion from both girls, Anna and Elsa both looked to Holly for an explanation to Serena's behavior but all she could do was shrug in reply. She heard Anna briefly fill Elsa in on who Serena was before turning to Holly and looking over her wounds. "Gee for a spill you had, I would have expected much worse."

Holly looked at her confusedly and turned her head, "do you know what happened to me?"

Anna's eyebrows shot up in surprise and confusion, "Hans texted me saying Olaf threw you into one of the cross-country oxers. Considering those are solid logs, I'dve thought you would have broken more bones."

"Wait, Hans texted you?" Holly asked after a moment of deeply scrambled thought.

"Ya why?"

Holly immediately thought of the flash of colour and the moment before his lesson where he shot her that cunning glance. "I would never ride with him so he couldn't have been with us when we went out…unless he followed."

Silence fell over the room as all three of them let it sink into their minds that Hans may have been at fault for this. After the silence seemed to reach a deafening peak, Anna exploded in a loud rage.

"That dirty, rotten son of a-oooh I'm going to slaughter him for this! And here he was trying to be all text cuddly and reassuring me when he broke the bad news. I knew he was up to something! What a colossal big fat jerk! I'm gonna-"

"Alright, alright, let's not get hasty," Elsa barked at Anna. It calmed Anna down enough for her to stew about it while mumbling a string of profanities, but Holly noticed that it clearly seemed to anger Elsa as well since she was very tense.

Feeling a creeping chill come over her, Holly shivered slightly and pulled her blankets up around her shoulders. She noticed that she wasn't the only one who noticed it since Anna shivered slightly as well then stood up abruptly. "I'm going to call Kristoff and yes I'm going to tell him Hans did it because that…that thing deserves to be pummeled," Anna stated resolutely and walked out of the room with cellphone in hand.

Elsa looked after her sister but shortly turned her focus to Holly whose shivering was now starting to cause her pain. The blonde gently shook her head and moved to the chair closest to the head of the bed. "How are you feeling?" she asked gently.

"I'll live," Holly answered with a small smile when she wasn't trying to blow a strand of hair from her eyes, "the bruised ribs hurt the most but since they're only bruised it shouldn't take as long to heal right?"

Elsa smiled and moved the strand of hair across Holly's face, "I don't know I'm not a doctor. But I would assume so."

Holly nodded slightly and met her gaze with Elsa's. "Thank you for coming. Really, it does mean a lot to me."

Elsa watched her for a few moments before looking away with mild bashfulness, "Anytime." As Elsa's eyes darted away from her own, Holly noticed she fixed them on the cast that imprisoned her wrist. After pulling a blue sharpie out of her pocket, Elsa extended her hand towards Holly's arm, "May I?"

Holly smiled and held the casted forearm up, "be my guest, and congratulations, you'll be the first to place a design on my cast that will encase my forearm for the next six weeks."

Elsa smiled and took Holly by the hand. Majority of it was encased in plaster but the few free fingers were able to graze Elsa's cool skin. Holly blushed at the contact and looked up at Elsa who was looking curiously at the edge of the cast. "What's this?" she asked tugging slightly on the corner of the receipt that Serena had slid in earlier.

Feeling suddenly guilty, Holly's eyes darted to the paper thin hospital sheets. "Serena put it there. She said to open it in case I need anything."

She didn't dare to look at Elsa but could tell the blonde was looking at the paper with a sense of disapproval. Fully ready to feel her hand let go of hers and listen to her walk out of the room, Holly was a bit shocked when she felt the tension on her arm increase ever so slightly and heard the light rub of felt on plaster. She looked up to see Elsa intently focusing on a design that she was creating. She went to open her mouth in protest as to why Elsa wasn't upset with her for sporting the token but found a raised alabaster finger commanding her to stay quiet.

"No peeking. I want this to be special," Elsa said quietly not breaking her focus form her masterpiece for one second.

Holly relaxed against the bed and covered her eyes with her good arm playfully, "I promise." _She's being so sweet to you. What on earth did you do to deserve her kindness? Either way, enjoy it while it's here. _Holly remained quiet until the scratching died out and Elsa hummed with satisfaction.

"All done, what do you think?" the blonde asked and turned to Holly to watch her reaction. When Holly opened her eyes and looked down at the cast, she couldn't help but gasp in awe.

"Elsa, they're perfect," she breathed as she saw half of her cast covered in snowflakes of all different shapes and sizes. All of them were unique and all were equally as breath-taking.

"I'm glad you like them," she said with a smile before looking over at Holly again. When the pair's eyes met, they both held each other's gaze for a long moment before both breaking off with a light blush.

Just as they did, Anna walked back in and patted Elsa's shoulder. "Holly's parents are here. We should probably go so they can spend time with her."

Elsa nodded and stood up to join her sister. When she looked back at Holly, she gave her a small wave before exiting the room ahead of Anna. The redhead sidled up to Holly's bedside and gave her a small hug before standing up again. "I did call Kristoff and Hans' pounding is scheduled for within the next 24 hours. We'll be around if you need anything."

"Thank you Anna, I'll let you know if I do," Holly responded with a small giggle at Kristoff's scheduled poundings. With a happy smile from Anna, the redhead walked out the room and after her sister.

Once she was alone, Holly turned to admire her presents that lay on her forearm. She couldn't help staring at the snowflakes Elsa drew and every time she looked at them, she felt herself become a little more elated. The one she had already decided was her favourite sat perfectly in the middle. A smaller one close by caught her eye as she looked closer at the detailing. After staring intensely at the snowflake, Holly was able to make out a series of numbers. Seeing this made her heart jump.

It was only when she heard the distant voices of Mr. Oaken and her parents from down the hall did Holly shifted her view from the snowflakes to the receipt tucked under the cast. She pulled it out and decided to look at what it said before her parents entered. Upon opening it, Holly's heart immediately went from light as a balloon to a lead zeppelin as she immediately understood Serena's tensed posture toward Elsa. Letting out a small groan, she tucked it back in its spot.

_Here's my #, call me_


	8. Round 2

It had been a few days being home from the hospital and Holly was already sick with cabin fever. The hospital staff discharged her that night where she was kept up throughout the car ride and home again with a steady lecture from both of her parents for indulging in 'reckless behaviour'. Because of her ribs, she was stuck at home for at least a week, then her family doctor would decide if she was to be home-bound for the rest of the summer or not.

Luckily, her parents didn't believe in pity parties so she was usually left to be by herself for majority of the day. It wasn't unless either one got particularly sentimental did they come up and spend a few moments with her. These were few and far-between but Holly didn't mind since she had lots of literature to catch up on.

After four days, Holly had exhausted nearly all the books in her room as well as any online works that caught her fancy. Having barely anything to keep her mind busy, Holly began to reflect again over the phone numbers she had been given. A sense of guilt plagued her as the scene from the hospital replayed in her mind. Although she didn't think she'd spurred anything, she felt as if she were two-timing. Unsure of what else to do, she grabbed her cellphone and punched in that old familiar number.

"Hello?" a groggy voice moaned on the other line when he eventually picked up.

"Kristoff, its 12pm," Holly scolded jokingly.

"Is it? Huh, guess I got my beauty sleep," he chuckled lightly, "What's up?"

"Can you come over? I've got stuff going on and I need to talk to you," Holly asked letting her voice give away her guilty conscience.

After a small pause, Holly heard rustling from Kristoff's end as he stumbled around his room. "Gimme 30 minutes."

/-/

A sac of carrots being flung onto her bed woke Holly up from the brief nap she had succumbed to. With a small groan, she looked around to try and figure out where it came from. When she heard a series of grunts from outside her window, Holly tried to move from her bed but her ribs complained enough to keep her stuck lying down.

"Kristoff?"

"No, it's Santa Claus," she heard the burly boy call out through gritted teeth from somewhere outside.

"What on earth are you doing?" Holly called out. She tried to see what was going on outside her house but the way her bed was angled, she couldn't see anything. After a couple of minutes, she saw a large hand clap onto her windowsill and haul Kristoff up to sit there.

"Your doors are locked. Since you're stuck in bed, this was kinda my only way in."

It took Holly a moment to figure out the logic in her mind that Kristoff was offering. The concussion had rattled her processing a bit but the doctor assured her it wasn't permanent. "I'm sorry."

Kristoff waved her apology off and raised his arm in a cocky fashion, "no problem. It was a built-in workout."

Giving a small chuckle, Holly patted the spot on the edge of her bed to invite Kristoff inside. He proceeded to waltz in, plunk himself on her bed and gnaw on one of the carrots from his bag. "Hungry?" he asked handing one to her.

"Thanks but I'll pass. Give it to Sven for me," she said poking the carrot's leafy end away from her.

"I will. Oh, I've been keeping an eye on Olaf for you. He's been looking for you but Sven and I have been keeping him company."

"Thanks Kristoff," she smiled thankfully before letting it turn a little impish, "so how's other things at the barn?"

"How so?" he asked growing a little awkward.

"Oh you know, barn politics and gossip," she said inching toward him. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up making him sweat a bit. Plus, what are friends for if not for a bit of harmless fun. When she saw his eyes become fascinated with the quilted pattern on her comforter, Holly decided to let the poor guy off the hook, "I already know, Anna called you from the hospital when we figured Hans out."

"It was well-deserved," Kristoff muttered and crossed his arms. "Creep had what was coming to him."

"You spared his life?"

Kristoff let out a disapproving grumble and nodded, "only because murder is illegal and rude. Any guy that thinks it's okay to take out my best friend and try and schmooze it up with Anna is worse than dirt in my books." Holly was torn between nodding and shaking her head. Kristoff noticed this and tried to defend himself, "I'm not the only one who thinks so. Serena agreed with me when she found out."

Holly let a small groan slip and darted her eyes away when she saw Kristoff look at her. She could tell without looking at him that he was searching her for an explanation until finally, he gave a light sigh.

"So this 'stuff' that you had to talk about," he said before trailing off expectantly. Holly knew she couldn't fend it off any longer and tried to sit herself up.

"It's girl problems," she admitted finally. The shocked expression on Kristoff's face made her feel uncomfortable and defensive, "it's not like it's been the first time I've talked to you about this kind of thing."

"Well ya but usually it's me with the girl issues. You haven't had one since-" he was cut short by Holly's icy gaze that reminded him quickly that she-who-shall-not-be-named was a touchy subject. Trying to divert her green eyes that were angrily boring into him, he pressed on, "I'm all ears."

With a sigh, Holly tugged the paper out of her cast and held the hunk of plaster out with it. Kristoff's confusion led her to gesture to the little snowflake with the numbers and the faded receipt. Kristoff studied the two exhibits and patted Holly gently on the shoulder.

"Good for you, scored two phone numbers. Some cute nurse interns?"

"No," Holly deadpanned. _That'd be so much simpler._ "They're phone numbers from Serena and Elsa."

"Oh," Kristoff said both quietly and thoughtfully. He looked between the two objects and focused more so on Serena's, "it says to call if you need anything. We're you flirting or was it genuine concern cuz you're bedridden?"

This theory threw a wrench in Holly's original train of thought. It could be quite possible that Serena was only trying to be helpful. _Considering how her entire mood shifted when Elsa entered the room, doubt it. The only bit she has ever heard of Elsa was when Regina figured you out._ After her mind decided to pause being devil's advocate, Holly answered Kristoff's question, "I don't think I ever flirted with her, but she acted real funny when Elsa and Anna showed up."

Kristoff thought about this and gave a small shrug, "maybe she was just caught off-guard by them. She doesn't know Anna all that well and Elsa not at all."

"True."

"I wouldn't cut her out of your life, Holly. Maybe see what she wants and let her know ahead of time if you don't reciprocate, same with Elsa."

Holly gave a small nod, feeling equally but a different kind of confused from earlier. "Thanks Kristoff," she said trying to change the subject and give her mind a rest.

"No worries, it's what I'm here for right?" he chuckled and looked around her room. When he saw the stacks of re-read books, he smiled and turned toward her, "that and entertaining you. You better hope you're not stuck here long."

"If I am, I need you to spring me," Holly laughed but let it ease to a giggle as her torso protested, "we can play or do anything you want so long as it stays to the confinements of my bed, and I pray you don't let your mind plummet into the gutter."

Kristoff howled with laughter and shook his head, "I think we're good on that front. I'll challenge you to a rousing game of Mario Kart once I get to sign your cast if you want."

Holly rolled her eyes and held it out dramatically. This odd tradition was one she felt she would never understand, though it did come with obvious perks. And those perks she planned on enjoying. She tossed him a sharpie from her bedside table and gave her most cheesy smile, "pick a spot. It's prime real estate."

Kristoff smiled and uncapped the sharpie, "You're going to sport a nice portrait of Godzilla crushing Tokyo since that's the muse I'm feeling."

"As long as Godzilla stays away from my snowflakes, I'm happy." _Shit._ Holly snapped her mouth shut after the words slipped out. She saw Kristoff quirk an eyebrow and turned her scarlet face away until the blood had receded enough for her to look relatively normal.

"Oh boy, and I thought I had girl problems."


	9. Love Simplified

Holly laid still in her bed as she looked out her window and at the stars in the sky. Kristoff had left many hours earlier before her parents got in from work leaving her to lead a mundane evening that was only graced by dinner being brought up for her. Originally, all the spare time would have driven her nuts but recently her mind was constantly debating the phone numbers, their owners and their meanings. So much that it was now far into the early hours of the morning.

Before she had built up the courage to act on anything or make any decisions, she picked up her phone and texted the second most-frequent number in her cellphone.

_Hey feistypants, u busy tomorrow…well today?_

Holly's eyes went back out to the stars when she sent the text. It took a while but eventually her phone vibrated against the mattress next to her.

_Nope. Wanna visitor?_

Unable to contain a smile, Holly rapped back quickly against her keyboard. _ Absolutely._

Holly had resigned to the fact that she was up for the rest of the night since her mind was too full with everything and now with questions she wanted to ask. She thought of the future encounter and what it may mean for her and Elsa long after the sun had passed the horizon. When her mother eventually came into her room with breakfast, Holly jumped on the chance to ask.

"Could Anna come over today to keep me company?"

Her mother watched her for a moment void of expression before turning and leaving the dirty blonde's door open. "I'll let your father know you need help getting downstairs."

Smiling slightly at the affirmative answer, she thanked her mother and began eating her cereal with renewed vitality. Hearing the footsteps of both her parents around the house, Holly began to plough the rest of her breakfast into her mouth since she knew her father wouldn't appreciate waiting for her to finish her meal. She set the bowl aside in time for him to climb the stairs and stand in her doorway.

"You're not going downstairs looking like that," her father stated gruffly.

Holly frowned in an irritated fashion. Yes, she wasn't the nicest looking human on the planet but when half of one's body feels like it will tear in half every time she moved, it seemed like an unfair statement to expect more from her. "Can you help me to the bathroom then?"

Wordlessly, her father supported her as she shuffled toward the bathroom while clutching a clean pair of PJs. Once she was inside, her father pulled the door shut behind him and left his daughter to the serenity of her thoughts and porcelain.

Somehow, Holly managed to draw a bath, get in and clean and half-hazardly get out again. She got her new pajamas on only to realize that her parents must have already left for work since the house was dead quiet. Her torso ached as she moved but seeing as she had no other choice but to do so, she made her way out of the bathroom and downstairs.

She shimmied down the last step just in time for the light rap on the front door that announced Anna's arrival. Holly shuffled over and opened the door to see the redhead looking happily back towards her.

"Good morning sunshine! Or did you sleep at all?"

With a small laugh, Holly shook her head. "Actually I didn't but I'll be okay."

"Pain keep you up?" Anna asked eyeing her ribs then her cast.

"Nope, just life stuff, come on in," she gestured down the hall to her living room. Anna came inside but stopped to look over her cast before heading off ahead of Holly.

"I brought snacks this time," she quipped from ahead, "I had a feeling you'd need them."

Holly smiled and settled down into her father's lazy boy before observing Anna's little stash. "Thank you, I could use a pick-me-up."

"I thought so," she chirped and tossed a bag of chips her way.

"So how are things?" Holly asked through gritted teeth as she tried to break the seal that kept her away from BBQ tastiness, "everyone doing well?"

"Ya it's the same-old, same-old. Elsa's been acting a little weird lately though."

Hearing this interesting bit of trivia, Holly couldn't pass it up, "How so?"

Anna chuckled and shook her head, "it sounds dumb, but she's been carrying her phone around and checking it a lot. She never does normally unless she knows I'm out and about somewhere. I'm wondering if she's finally gotten a girlfriend or at least a love interest, though I am concerned, I think it's rattling her a bit."

"Oh maybe," Holly replied hiding the disappointment from her voice. Her eyes immediately looked back down to the snowflakes on her cast, and incidentally back to the number.

"Did Elsa draw those?"

Holly looked up to see Anna was looking over at the snowflakes as well. Hiding a blush, the smaller girl nodded, "mhm, she did them while you were arranging hits with Kristoff."

With a laugh, Anna seemed to recall the memory. "Hans hasn't been back at the stables in a while. I wonder if Kristoff really did scare him shitless," she smirked with a larger sense of pride than she usually had.

"It's Kristoff, I wouldn't put it past him," Holly replied watching Anna's reaction though still finding her unreadable.

"True," Anna mumbled between mouthfuls of chips. Holly didn't notice that Anna had been watching her for the next while as she flitted her gaze around the room, letting her mind focus more on her thoughts than what she saw. She was trying to phrase together how she could inquire more about Elsa when she heard Anna clap her hands together and look intently at her, "so what's the life stuff that's going on? The 'rents are treating you alright?"

"Ya, they've been decent," Holly answered trying to avoid fully answering the redhead's question. When she saw her expression change from curiosity to determination, Holly just decided to give up then and sighed, "I don't know how to explain this."

"Just spit it out."

"And If I don't want to?"

"Well it's your life Holly but you know I'm here in case you need someone to talk to. Unless you need a love expert, then Kristoff is your better bet since he knows some," Anna replied wondering what the root of Holly's insecurities was. When she saw the dirty blonde's facial expression falter ever so slightly, she leaned back in her chair and nodded, "I thought so."

"What?"

"You've got love problems."

"So what if I do?" Holly snipped a bit defensively. She did want to get on the subject of love and Elsa but she didn't want it to be so blatantly obvious.

"Holly, from what I've learned, love is when you're willing to put someone else's needs before yours and that you can handle their best and worst. I'm not trying to educate you but if you feel something, you can't just let it slip from you. Don't attack it full-force but don't let it pass you by. Everyone deserves to be loved Holly and if you can find real and true love, I'd say you're pretty lucky."

Holly just blinked in response to her friend's sage advice. She had no idea that Anna was so knowledgeable about the subject of loving someone. It was only when she reflected on the fact that she had lived barely knowing Elsa for thirteen years did Holly truly understand.

When she thought of the prospect of her really loving someone, it terrified her. Love was vulnerable and that was a feeling she was not used to at all. She built walls since she was a child, letting few people in and loving even fewer. "I'm afraid to," she confessed almost inaudibly.

"Everyone is," Anna replied and sat beside her on the arm of the lazy boy recliner, "putting yourself out there isn't easy but would you rather experience a moment's worth of pain or regret never loving someone? I'll let you think about it."

Holly stewed in Anna's words for many moments really animating the debate in her mind. When she grew weary of battling again and again in her head, she looked up at her friend who was wordlessly watching her.

"Who educated you so much on love?" Holly asked wondering how the younger redhead was so well-informed on the subject when she could barely wrap her head around it.

"Kristoff's love-expert friends mainly but also Kristoff himself. He helped to teach me all that I know about love," Anna answered with a small smiled that crinkled her features. It held genuine happiness, as if this knowledge she had obtained was more than just the understanding of a subject. Holly caught on and gave her friend a tight hug.

"Thanks for passing on the info," Holly said with a smile and rested her head against her friend. She counted her blessings and this much she knew: she did understand that love existed in different forms, and the love she had for Anna and Kristoff was as unconditional as family.

/-/

Staring at her cellphone, Holly couldn't avoid the inevitable anymore. She had effectively stalled for the past five days sitting, thinking and having her friends and books entertain her. Now that Anna had gone home for dinner, Holly had no choice but to face the facts and figure out what she was going to do. After pulling out the phone number from her cast and laying it beside her plastered arm, Holly sat herself on her bed and looked between the two candidates.

Focusing firstly on the faded receipt, Holly reflected the relationship she had developed over the weeks with Serena. They became friends very quickly and she felt almost always at-ease around her, though how much of her emotion was friendzone based?

Quickly, her eyes flitted over to the many snowflakes that dotted her cast and were now accompanied by Godzilla and a very weirdly cute snowman. Her eyes found the numbers again and she settled into evaluating how she felt about Elsa.

She realized that her early-on associations with Elsa was mainly curiosity and infatuation toward the unknown beauty. But as time passed and they interacted more, it didn't feel like a childish whim but like a relationship that she felt could really be worth something. She noticed the small interactions they had that proved this, including her snowflakes. But now, someone else was jeopardizing this opportunity that Holly could have had.

After a few moments, she had made up her mind: Serena would be around the stables when she got back and she could address it then, but with Elsa, her chances might already be numbered. If there was a potential girlfriend on the scene, that could change everything. Thinking back to the few exchanges they had, Holly already knew she wasn't going to give them up without a fight. _The least you can do is try._ Quickly firing in the number she had come to know well, she sent a simple 'hey' and sat preparing herself for the wait. Thank some sort of divine being, her wait was shortlived.

_Hey, I'm glad you got my code message. I was starting to worry that you didn't._

* * *

A/N: thank you everyone for the positive feedback. As for plot stuffs, I have plans in store mwahaha...


	10. Wounds of All Sorts

Needless to say, Holly's phone had basically become another appendage after Elsa texted her back. The next day was filled with non-stop chat about every topical conversation one could have over SMS chats. Holly learned that Elsa was fluent in English, French and Norwegian, won a few poetry contests in grade school, was high school valedictorian and would probably be a cat person if she was good with pets.

_If anyone ever saw you, they'd probably roll their eyes with how smitten you are. _Holly shamelessly agreed with herself as she hummed around her room getting ready to get dressed. Today was the day she was to go to the doctor for a follow-up. Despite the fact that her ribs still ached, she had decided that regardless of what her verdict was, she was going back to the stables even if it was just visiting Olaf in the pasture. She was in the process of trying to painfully put a sock on when her mother flung open the door.

"Your father cannot take the time off of work to take you to the doctor and I have bridge at Sandra's so you'll have to find your own way."

"But how? Can't you drop me off on the way?"

"No I can't, it's the complete opposite side of the city. Take the bus if you need to," her mother snapped and turned to go back downstairs.

Holly huffed and returned to tackling her sock. She would probably get a lecture later about being a little brat for not wanting to jar herself further on a city bus. She was definitely heading back to the barn, no exceptions.

With that, she picked up the phone and called Mr. Oaken and her employer to tell them that she would be returning back to work. Her employer was overjoyed and booked her in for next week. Mr. Oaken on the other hand took a bit of persuading, eventually though she got him down to light barn work. When she hung up the phone with Mr. Oaken, she finished her task with her socks and decided she should probably figure out a way to the doctor's office.

No sooner did she start to think about her trip did her phone vibrate in the butt pocket of her jeans. Tugging it out, she turned pink when she saw the name and thumped her forehead against her palm. She opened the text from Elsa to see that she seemed cheery today.

_Good morning, you busy today?_

Smiling, an idea dawned in her mind as she tapped on the keyboard in response.

_Actually I was going to ask you that. I'm free all day except for a follow-up appointment._

_Want me to drive you and we could do something?_

Grinning from ear-to-ear in the privacy of her own room, Holly quickly sent a response and made her way to the stairs.

_Absolutely, you're the best._

/-/

It took all of twenty minutes for the silver hatchback to pull up in front of her parents' house. Holly sat by the front window like a lost puppy the entire time and nearly knocked over an expensive vase when she jumped up to go. Saving the ugly looking thing from a horrible fate, she snuck out of the door and out to Elsa's little hatchback.

"I'm really sorry, the A/C just busted on me so we'll have to keep the windows open," Elsa apologized as she darted out of the car and opened the passenger door for her.

"Don't worry, the heat never killed me," Holly said with a smile and rested against the door as she eased herself into the car, "well thank you, I was never informed of how chivalrous you are."

Holly noticed a hint of color travel to the blonde's cheeks as she gently closed the door and headed to the driver's side. When she climbed in and started the car, she gestured to the radio, "I pass off the controls to you. Pick anything you'd like."

"I'm okay, I'd rather talk to you."

Immediately, Elsa dawned a panicked expression as her eyes focused on the road ahead of her. "I didn't mean for it to sound like that, I like talking to you too-"

Sensing her anxiety, Holly reached over and placed her hand against Elsa's forearm to try and relax her. Feeling her cool skin beneath her hand made Holly all of a sudden second-guess everything she was doing, as if she wasn't worthy. "I know, its okay."

Elsa tore her eyes away from the road and locked them with hers for a long moment. Thank goodness they were still in her survey so Elsa could recover from their little scare without the anxiety of traffic as well. After a long moment, Elsa gave a small nod and looked down. "Okay, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Holly reassured and gave her forearm the lightest squeeze. Seeing that Elsa had sensed it, she retracted her arm back and hugged it around herself. She hadn't noticed it but the car felt very chilly inside, "I thought you said the A/C was busted."

Elsa moved her hand to the vent and gave a small smile. "Look at that, either the car was pranking me or there was some form of divine intervention," she replied with a hint of nervousness to her voice and began to continue on toward the doctor's address. Chalking it up to residual stress from what just happened, Holly shrugged and decided to change the subject.

Soon, the couple had arrived, parked and were riding the elevator up the building to her family doctor's office. There was a small hiatus in conversation between the lobby and when Holly was done signing in with reception. Although it was quiet, it wasn't awkward and as easily as the two paused, they restarted once they were seated in the waiting room. Sadly though, the wait was short and Holly was ushered into an examination room, leaving Elsa with only a few copies of Today's Parent for entertainment.

Her meeting with the family doctor was short and sweet. He checked her ribs and cognitive functioning and told her she would be as good as new in around a week. Hearing that news, she thanked him and trotted out the examination room door before the poor man could utter another word. She had left the room in just her tank top and remembered to put her t-shirt back on only when she saw Elsa in the waiting room.

"All done," Holly proclaimed with a sense of relief. She saw that Elsa's eyes darted from her face to the exposed skin of her shoulders that was littered with freckles, sun spots and sported a red-winged blackbird tattoo.

"So you're good to go?" Elsa asked while standing up. Her eyes were now focusing largely on the detail of her tattoo so Holly decided that the t-shirt could stay off.

"Yup, let's get out of here," she said and headed towards the door. It took Elsa a moment to realize what was going on before she snapped out of it and came after her.

/-/

"So when did you get the tattoo?" Elsa asked over a hot chocolate. Holly was amazed how the girl could drink hot drinks in the middle of a heatwave.

"It was in my first year. I've always wanted one so I told my parents I was at a study group and got it. It was tricky trying to hide it from them but somehow I was successful," Holly replied and took a long sip of chocolate milk through a bendy straw.

"Don't they hurt?"

"Not really, it feels like getting a good sunburn. In my case, I've had so many of those, it was a cakewalk."

"You're pretty brave, I don't know if I could," Elsa said and tugged her cup close to her as if she were protecting it.

_She's so damn adorable_, Holly mused as rested her hand into her palm. "So just out of curiosity, why didn't you get pet exposure as a kid? Didn't you guys have a pet or something?"

"No we didn't, nor did I interact with anyone who had one," Elsa answered with a slight edge to her voice. Sensing that she didn't want to talk about it, Holly remembered that she had previously invited her up to the barn and decided that would be a good segue.

"Would you want to come up and get to know Olaf? Maybe that'll help."

Elsa's eyes flitted from both her and the dark remnants of the hot chocolate in the bottom of her cup. After a moment's pause, she sighed slightly and pushed the mug aside. "Just this once, if I don't like it I'm done. Got it?"

Holly nodded hearing the terms and conditions and extended her hand, "deal."

After chugging the rest of her milk, the pair hopped into the hatchback and drove up to Arendelle Stables. On the ride up, Holly assured Elsa that they didn't have to stay long and that they would work on it slowly. When they parked the car, Holly reassured her that the most they would do that day was petting and maybe grooming if she felt particularly adventurous. When Elsa was calm and ready, they made that old familiar walk out to the pasture.

When Olaf was in view, she whistled to the Fjord in greeting. His head snapped up and he replied with a happy whinny as he shot off towards the fence. When he got there however, he immediately pinned his ears and snorted at her.

"That's not very nice. I didn't mean to stay away," Holly exclaimed but the horse was still miffed at her, "he's scolding me."

"I see what you mean by them being vocal about their emotions," Elsa said with a small giggle. She stood close to Holly this time and held a carrot as a peace offering. When Olaf noticed that, his focus shifted to Elsa and he became as sweet as pie for the blonde.

"Of course, he knows where his bread is buttered," Holly said with mock sarcasm and took the hand that Elsa held the carrot in. Feeling the contact made the girl blush and fumble slightly as she tried to adjust her hand on how to properly feed a horse, "lay your palm flat like that."

Seeing the blush on Elsa's face as well, she watched her raise her palm to Olaf as he caught the scent of the carrot and gently lipped the treat from her hand. Seeing her face crinkle at the odd feeling made Holly chuckle as she got the Fjord ready to bring into the barn. Once they had Olaf in his stall happily eating dinner, Holly and Elsa were able to talk and laugh without the prospect of a sizeable horse making the blonde nervous.

"That had to be the oddest thing I have ever felt," Elsa said looking at the palm that the carrot once sat on.

"It is but you get used to it," Holly giggled. She found herself also looking at Elsa's hands but more so at the detail and structure. Her dainty, pale hands seemed flawless. _You'll always think she's beautiful though._

"So does he still like warm hugs?" Elsa's question brought Holly back to Olaf as he nosily crunched up his feed inside his stall.

"Of course he does. You ready to give him one?"

"Sure, but first could you show me where the bathroom is?"

Holly smiled and gestured for Elsa to follow her. She escorted her down the hall and into the lounge. "It's through that door, you'll have to pull it tight if you want it to lock," she said pointing to the wooden door in the corner of the room.

"Thanks, I'll just be a second," Elsa replied and headed over. When Holly turned to go back to Olaf's stall, the sight of the brunette made her stomach fall. Considering her tight posture, she could tell that she knew Elsa was here with her. That old sense of guilt arose in the pit of her stomach and she dropped her gaze.

"So you recovered quickly," Serena stated emotionless. Despite her lack of emotional involvement in the conversation so far, Holly wasn't fooled into thinking that there weren't hard feelings.

"Thankfully yes, bed rest did me good," she replied diplomatically. When she looked back up, Serena was no longer facing her but tending to Weasel's needs as she clipped him into crossties.

"Good to know you didn't need anything," Serena said after a pause, developing an edge to her tone.

"My parents pretty much took over my care," Holly replied matter-of-factly.

"If you didn't want me around, you could have just said so," she stuttered, emotion and instability creeping into her voice.

"Serena, both my body and mind were a bit jarred from the fall. I'm sorry I didn't keep in contact," Holly answered letting old guilt, fear and insecurities creep back into her mind and voice.

"That's fine, it doesn't matter to me anyway," she snapped and tugged the crossties off of Weasel's halter, "I can deal with being number two."

Holly stood in her spot speechless as the girl and her horse stormed past her and out of the barn, leaving her to deal with the aftermath of that. Feeling her mind kick into preservation mode, she felt the parapets being installed as she walked over to Olaf and buried herself in his little mohawk.


	11. Supported

Elsa was certain that she wasn't in the bathroom for very long but when she came out, Holly was gone from the lounge and from the adjacent hallway. She was tempted to call out the smaller girl's name until she heard sad sounding mumbling from a ways away. As she began to walk back towards Olaf's stall, the voice's volume increased until it was audible enough that she could tell that it came from Holly.

Elsa stopped a few paces from the stall where the Fjord stood trying to soothe the girl clutching to him. Holly had her head mashed into Olaf's mane, obscuring everything she said to the horse as she gently stroked him. Unsure of what dramatically shifted her mood, Elsa began to build up the courage to ask her what was wrong.

"Holly?"

The dirty blonde removed her face from the Fjord's neck and rubbed her eyes with her free hand. When she looked up at Elsa, she laughed a little and brushed her hair away from her face. "Sorry about that, I'll be okay," she said with her usual peppiness but something weighed it down. Feeling unsure of how to console the poor girl, Elsa bit the inside of her cheek and darted her eyes over the detail in the concrete floor. If she had been more socially inclined, she would know exactly what to say. She would probably hug her close and soothe her like what good girlfriends do, but she wasn't a social butterfly and she didn't know what to do.

"If you're not feeling up to it, we can go home," Elsa offered. She really didn't want to cut her time short with Holly but she knew that if she was really upset, she would probably want her space.

"No, I'd rather stay here for a bit. Besides, you haven't given Olaf a warm hug yet," Holly replied and turned her attention to the Fjord, probably to hide her sadness from Elsa.

Remembering that she did agree to it, Elsa walked over and stood beside Holly and close to Olaf's face. She gently petted his forehead for a few moments to get acquainted with him. When he relaxed and nuzzled her pockets for treats, the blonde initially tensed but relaxed when she felt just lips at her pockets. Slowly, she extended her hand to travel down Olaf's neck until it eventually settled by his withers. Gently and cautiously, she extended her arms around his neck and patted him as she hugged him. When Elsa let Olaf go, she looked up to see that Holly had been silently watching her interact with the horse.

"See?" she said with a small smile. A pang of guilt ran through Elsa's chest when she watched the smaller girl's reaction. She knew that Holly would have been overjoyed at this interaction, but whatever was bothering her was stopping her from enjoying herself.

"What's bothering you?" Elsa asked imploringly as she walked back over toward her. When the question left her lips, she saw her green eyes dart away from Elsa for a brief moment before returning to her. A surge of panic arose in the pit of Elsa's stomach, making her wonder if she was to blame for the girl's unhappiness.

Her reaction must have been quite obvious because Holly's instant reply seemed a little stressed. "It's not your fault Elsa, not at all. If anything, you're helping," the girl's voice softened as she spoke but still her insecurities plagued her enough to keep her silent.

Elsa fiddled with her hands, unsure whether or not to keep them to herself or to embrace her. Her internal debate just led her to the halfway point by just holding them out. "If there is anything I can do, would you let me know?"

Holly's eyes looked up to hers and became transfixed for a while. Elsa watched her silently switch her gaze between Elsa's left eye and her right eye then down to her outstretched hands. Seeing them hang there in the open made Elsa want to retract them. _You look stupid like that._ Before she could pull them away, Holly began to reach her own hands out and place them in Elsa's. Feeling warm skin and cool plaster made her feel a little at-ease. For Elsa, this was a good milestone, and judging by the little smile on Holly's face, it was one for her too.

"You just did, thank you." Holy rubbed her fingers over Elsa's palms as she thanked the girl. The gentle touch felt like little electric currents running through her hands and up her arms. It was terrifying and oddly exciting.

With a gentle squeeze to her good hand, Elsa turned to look at Olaf. "You're welcome. Do you still feel like staying?"

Holly paused and began to look around the stables from her vantage point. Her eyes eventually settled on an empty stall a couple down on the other side. After a moment of staring at it, she shook her head slightly and dropped her gaze.

Taking her hand, Elsa led the dirty blonde out of the stall and shut it tight so Olaf was safe inside. She walked Holly over to the hatchback and set her down in the passenger seat. The drive back was filled with silence as Holly gazed mindlessly out the window. Elsa's mind raced with all sorts of things that could have made her upset, most of which led to her blaming herself.

When they reached Holly's house, Elsa noticed that there were no cars in the driveway. She felt worried leaving her to be by herself for the next few hours especially feeling so down. She turned to look at Holly and saw that she too had her gaze fixed on the empty driveway.

"Are you sure you want to stay here alone? I could keep you company," Elsa sputtered. She immediately began to second-guess herself after she made the offer. There were so many things that could go wrong. What if it led to Holly no longer liking her? _It's likely, no one loves a freak. _But the freckled girl gave a genuine smile that banished every insecurity her mind threw at her. She was such a sweet person, it pained Elsa to see her carry such a heavy weight.

"I'd love it if you did, but right now I think I need some time to think before my parents come home." Holly's reply was a bit disappointing but the sincerity and gratitude she expressed made Elsa feel a little better. She could tell that her offer touched her, and it encouraged her to do it more.

"I understand. If you need anything at all, call me?" Elsa asked. She wanted to be sure that Holly was going to be alright. Her outward expression of concern reached Holly as she looked up at her. Unexpectedly, she felt her wrap her arms around Elsa for a brief moment before setting her free again.

"I will, thank you for everything," she whispered and climbed out of the car and walked toward the house.

/-/

Elsa tossed the keys into a bowl beside the door when she walked in. Hearing the hooting and hollering from upstairs, she could tell that Anna was home and that she wasn't alone. With a small groan, she headed into the kitchen and took a small tub of ice cream from the freezer.

"Hang on Kristoff, I think Elsa's home. Save it and do a 1 player 'til I come back."

Elsa groaned again as she seated herself on the sofa with the tub and a spoon. It wasn't dignified but considering how insecure she felt right now, she decided to let it slide. Her original hopes of being left alone were dashed when she heard her younger sister come thundering down the stairs.

"Hey, where'd you head off to?" Anna asked cheerfully as she plopped herself beside her sister.

"With friends," Elsa replied flatly and stuffed a spoonful of Heavenly Hash into her mouth.

"Anyone I know?"

"Maybe."

"You're no fun when you're grumpy," Anna stated and leapt off the couch and toward the kitchen. Elsa thought for just a brief second that she may have gotten her awaited peace until Anna returned with a spoon of her own.

"Who said I was sharing?" Elsa said hugging the tub to her chest.

"I did," Anna said and dove her spoon into the ice cream. With a giggle, she took her spoon and began to dine on the dessert, "so were you out with Holly by chance?"

Elsa froze for a moment. How on earth did Anna know that she was out with Holly? She hadn't said anything. _Would Holly have told her? Not while you were there, she was busy with you when she wasn't sad._ Reminding herself of the depressed-looking Holly made Elsa want to frown but she hid it from view. _Control…_

"I only asked because she hasn't texted me back and her doctor's appointment was hours ago," Anna finally replied while eyeing her sister suspiciously.

"Actually, I was. I took her to her appointment because her parents were busy," Elsa responded trying to keep her emotions in check.

"And on a date?"

Elsa whipped her head around to look at her sister. Panic filled her mind at how it was so obvious that she had begun courting her sister's best friend. Even worse, she was worried she had offended Anna through some sort of unsaid code that you don't date your sister's friends.

Apparently, her terror was amusing to Anna since the redhead burst out laughing. "Calm down, Elsa. You'd think you had committed treason or something," Anna said through guffaws and wiped the tears from her eyes, "It's fine, I figured it out a little while ago anyways."

"How?" Elsa asked incredulously.

"It was kinda obvious. Your weird little interactions when Holly stayed over, your insistence to drive me to the hospital when Dad was already ready to go, then the snowflakes and the texting," Anna stated with a cocked eyebrow. The obviousness of Elsa's intentions made the girl blush with embarrassment.

"I didn't realize."

"I didn't think so, the pair of you were so lovesick."

"Pair?" Elsa asked watching Anna's expression. She wondered how much her sister knew from being in the middle.

"Pair as in both of you. Holly was going through love issues when I went out to visit her. Now I understand why."

Elsa had never thought about what the other girl must have gone through while she waited those few days for a response. It brought to her an understanding that this was just as daunting for her as it was for Elsa.

"I think you two will be just fine," Anna said as if she had been reading her mind. Although the interactions between her sister and herself during childhood were very limited, there was still a strong bond there that Elsa would always love.

"Thank you," she said with a smile and passed the tub over to her sister, "and what about you and love?"

Anna laughed and took another spoonful before smiling at Elsa impishly, "I'm just fine."

* * *

Holly sat curled up in a dusty old IKEA chair for quite some time before she realized how long she had been up there. After Elsa had dropped her off, she retreated to the attic that held pieces of her childhood, years gone by and offered solace from the world outside.

"Mrow," an old arthritic cat hobbled over toward her as he glared at her for sitting in his chair. Pablo was the cat she had gotten when she was four years old. Now sixteen, the old guy was so cranky and arthritic that he barely came down from the attic. Holly made it a usual thing to go up and visit him and be left alone in the open space.

"C'mere buddy," she cooed and scooped the cat up and sat him in her lap. He looked up at her rather undignified before settling down and purring in his new post. _And that's why you'll always love animals, because they'll love you unconditionally. People could too, you know, if you just let them in._

Holly reflected on what happened in the barn and kept trying to figure out what she had done wrong. She probably should have called Serena, to at least let her know she was okay but what if it had sparked something she didn't intend? _Too late._

She didn't regret contacting Elsa for an instant. In fact, the blonde had made her happy and was a rock for her while she had been stupidly falling apart up at the stables earlier. She felt guilt stream into her system as her insecurities made her wonder if Elsa would have anything to do with such an unstable girl.

_She had her chance to run. Why was she so concerned then if she thought you were a nutcase?_

Her brain had a point. Holly accepted the reasoning but still felt residual guilt in the pit of her stomach. She realized that it was because she had practically lost her friendship with Serena, but it was not by her own doing. Looking at her own feelings, she knew that she only saw Serena as a friend and despite her fondness, she already had feelings for Elsa and those couldn't just be replaced.

She had made her decision, and she could tell that she had made the right one.

Picking up her phone, she dialed Elsa's number and waited for the blonde to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey you, fancy a date tomorrow?" Holly asked with a flirtatiousness that was quite impressive given how upset she had been. Her boldness surprised even her and she was appreciative that her phone couldn't give her blush away.

Her change in tone must have surprised Elsa because the girl on the other side paused and gave a small chuckle. "A date? Well that does sound promising. Are we talking coffee or are we raising the stakes and doing dinner?" Her question held a boldness that held its own insecurity. Holly smiled and logged the memory of Elsa's tone into her mind, thinking of how adorable it was.

"Dinner," Holly stated proudly and began to flip through a take-out menu that had moved up here, giving her some ideas, "what is your feeling on seafood?"


	12. First Dates

**A/N: hi all, after some thought and feedback, I decided to adjust the last half of the chapter. Hopefully no one is terribly busted up about it but I thought I should make it more to character and realistic.**

**thanks for hanging in with me, I appreciate it c:**

* * *

Holly could barely contain herself all day the next day. Despite everything her mother did, the smaller girl's excitement for her date that evening couldn't be marred. Even when she had to polish her mother's silver tea service and endure many cranky old women in her living room, Holly was still practically bouncing with anticipation. Sadly, this didn't go unnoticed by her mother who immediately went into interrogation mode when no one was around.

"So you're excited."

"Ya, just a bit."

"I would say more than a bit, you're practically vibrating. Something fun happening tonight?"

Holly knew better than to come out of the closet right in that moment. Actually in all honesty, she had no idea about how to come out to her parents since they would likely disown her if they knew. With only 2 years left in her degree, she decided it would be best to keep it under wraps until she could set herself up. With that, she had to come up with an excuse, and a good one.

"One of Anna's friends is a debutant so we're going to her coming out party tonight. It's quieter than most, her parents are modest people," Holly lied smoothly. She couldn't think of anything better so she knew that she would have to come up with something.

"A coming out party? I'm surprised that you would be excited about that. Usually you're into…less aesthetically pleasing activities," her mother said with slight disdain. Holly always knew that her mother didn't approve of her unladylike choices.

"There's a first time for everything," Holly replied back with a very slightly challenging tone. It wasn't worth a fight so she hoped her mother would drop it. Either way, her mother seemed pleased that she was filling a more suitable role and went on with the rest of their day without any further interrogation.

After a speedy shower, Holly found herself, as usual, rushing to get ready. She was never good at dressing up and was famous for never allotting enough time for herself. She had brushed out her hair wet and hoped that it would dry out nicely instead of the usual frazzled mess that it was. As she tugged on a pair of dress pants and suspenders, she checked the mirror and saw that her hair had fallen into nice barrel curls. Thanking whichever deity was watching over her, she grabbed a bowtie off her desk and ran out her bedroom door with her things.

As she came down the stairs, she saw her mother at the bottom with a stern look and pointing back upstairs. "Get back up there. You are **not **going to a debutant party in _pants_ of all things!" she cried shrilly as if Holly was about to get incarcerated by the fashion police.

"Mother-"

"No 'but mother' me!" Her mother yelled. She could see her taking a breath for a second wind so Holly decided to take a chance.

"Do you want me to outdo the poor girl? If I wear a dress I might look nicer than her!" Holly asked with fake interest. In truth, she could give a monkeys but if she was going to get out of the house, she had to pass her mother's scrutiny.

This question stumped her mother for a moment. She mumbled for a moment to herself before looking a little frazzled. "But you look like a _lesbian_. You won't attract a man looking like that."

The sheer irony of the entire situation made Holly want to burst out laughing and shake her head at the idiocies of her mother at the same time. She decided to let it slide and gestured to her outfit. "It's all feminine cut clothing. Besides, would you really want a boyfriend getting in the way of my studies come autumn?"

That was enough to convince her mother. She let her daughter go without any complaints except for letting Holly borrow the car. The dirty blonde vowed to return the car before late and left without another word.

Holly practically skidded out the driveway and down the road. She knew she was late and cursed herself as she flirted with the speed limit on the way to Elsa's. She quickly arrived and threw the car into park before hopping out and running to the door. Once she reached the porch, she gave a light knock on the door and tried to regulate her breathing so it didn't look like she had run all the way there. In mid-huff, Anna opened the door.

"Hey you look snazzy, come inside for a second," Anna said and flung the door open. Once Holly was inside, Anna trotted up a couple of the stairs. "Your date is here!" she called up teasingly.

"I'll be right down!" Elsa called back from upstairs somewhere. Upon hearing the blonde's voice, Holly became so nervous that she felt that like she could throw up. This was her first real date with Elsa and the reality was hitting her full-force in Anna's living room.

"She's been fussing all afternoon…oh crap, Holly maybe you should sit down, you look a little green," Anna said running over and plopping her down on the sofa. When Holly finally mustered enough energy to blink, Anna giggled, "so, a bit nervous?"

Holly deadpanned the redhead which only brought out more laughter from her. "I keep forgetting, this is practically a first for you."

"Sort of," Holly stated really not wanting to delve into her past right in that moment.

The light footsteps coming from the upstairs saved Holly's skin form further questioning. She stood up and turned to look up the staircase. When Elsa came down, any cognitive functioning just paused as Holly stood in awe of the blonde in front of her. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress that complimented her figure in every way. She had her hair in a French braid off her shoulder like she usually did but something seemed different about it this time, it seemed _shinier._

Unable to comprehend what she was seeing, Holly blinked quite a few times before saying anything. It took her a moment to notice that Elsa seemed quite nervous as she slowly made her way down the stairs. _Oh Elsa, someone as pretty as you shouldn't be nervous about a pleb like me._ When she met her gaze, Holly couldn't help but smile. "Elsa, you look fantastic."

The blonde dropped her eyes to look over her outfit with slight surprise. Holly had to wonder whether or not she was used to getting compliments as the girl looked herself over as if thinking _I look fantastic?_

"You do," Holly reassured her when she finally made it all the way down the stairs.

"You look dashing yourself," Elsa reciprocated with a hint of shyness to her voice as she looked over Holly's choice in wardrobe.

Feeling very shy as well, Holly's gaze fell to her shoes as she blushed and toyed with her suspenders. "No one's ever said I look dashing before."

"Well you do," Elsa replied with a small smile. Holly looked up and reciprocated the action before Anna interrupted the moment.

"Okay lovebirds, do you mind taking the mush to the restaurant?" she said and ushered the two toward the door.

"As if you're not enjoying this!" Holly teased her back. When the redhead stuck her tongue out, she couldn't help but laugh, "if my parents ever ask, we were at your friend's debutant party, capiche?"

Anna gave Holly an incredulous look before laughing a little. "Alright then, now you two behave."

"You too, no shenanigans with Kristoff while I'm gone," Elsa ordered with a light sternness. After her sister waived them off and closed the door, Holly turned to Elsa.

"So her and Kristoff are finally an item?"

Elsa chuckled and nodded, "yes, finally."

With a relieved sigh from Holly, she gestured toward the old car that sat on the street waiting for them. "Your chariot madamoiselle."

/-/

"So how's the lutefisk here?"

"Eugh, don't tell me you actually like that stuff?" Holly wrinkled her nose form the other side of the table.

"I sort of do sometimes," Elsa answered softly. Holly wasn't sure if she had offended the girl so she decided she should probably explain herself.

"I'm sorry, it's just that Mr. Oaken eats that all the time and the smell of it can get pretty gross after a while. If you like it by all means order it."

"I just might," Elsa replied and turned her gaze to her menu. Holly dropped hers to her own despite the fact that she already knew what she was eating. She knew that if she didn't that she would just admire her date's stellar looks and didn't want to intimidate Elsa. _You're enough of a weirdo as it is._

"So, is this your first real date then?" Elsa asked while resting her cheek in her palm. Seeing the curiosity in her eyes was a nice change from the subtle nervousness that always seemed to be there. Wanting to make her happy, Holly decided she could possibly extend some boundaries.

"Pretty much."

"You've never dated anyone before?"

"No I have, but in my opinion a fifteen year old guy getting frozen yogurt and having to split the bill doesn't really count as a real date."

"Point taken," Elsa said with a smile before continuing, "So you never dated any girls before?"

The topic was getting to the point where Holly usually changed the subject. Although she was uncomfortable, she knew she would have to reopen old wounds at some point in time and if she were to date someone, they would eventually have to know. "Not exactly," she murmured.

Her answer seemed to confuse Elsa. Holly understood that her question was very black or white and that her response was quite grey. "How so?" she asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Holly shut her eyes as she recalled the times that once brought her joy but now only brought her pain. The girl's face reappeared in her mind as it cruelly toyed with her memories. After so many years, she thought she had buried it far enough back that it would no longer bother her, but even now it hurt just as much.

She opened her eyes and looked at Elsa with every minute of time and ounce of pain fresh in her mind. Seeing her become quite uncomfortable, she dropped her gaze to the menu and gave a small smirk. "I came out of the closet by falling in love with a straight girl," she replied hoarsely before shutting her eyes again. Her emotion was raw and she knew she needed to control it before she addressed Elsa again. When she finally got herself in check, she opened her eyes to look at Elsa.

The blonde sat across from her with a range of emotions on her face from sad, to guilty, to embarrassed. Holly said nothing as she watched the girl process everything in her mind and waited nervously but patiently for her to respond to her little outburst.

"I see," Elsa said after a long pause, her voice having a newfound heaviness to it. Feeling worried that she had scared the poor girl off or made her feel uncomfortable, Holly began to fiddle with the tablecloth.

"Are you ladies ready to order?" a very excited waiter chirped as he flipped open his little notepad and awaited their food choices.

Feeling that his uncharacteristic excitement was very out of place, Holly wanted to get rid of him as quick as possible. "The shrimp and calamari pasta and just water," she stated and held up her menu.

Her abrupt attitude seemed to put a damper on the waiter's which made her feel a little guilty about how she treated the poor guy. Having written her order down, he turned from her and focused on Elsa who was looking down at her menu.

"I'll just have the lutefisk," she said quietly.

"Nothing to drink?"

"Maybe some water," she responded with a sad tone and passed her menu to him as he walked over towards the kitchen. Hearing this made Holly feel ten times worse as she watched Elsa nervously settle into her seat.

With a sharp inhale, Holly managed to blubber out an apology. "I'm sorry that I dumped my crappy dating history on you like that. I should have phrased it better."

Elsa looked up at her with slight confusion and shook her head. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have forced you into telling me," she said while gently manhandling her cloth napkin.

Their interaction was briefly interrupted with the waiter returning with the glasses of water. He placed it on the table and walked away without a word. Holly hadn't really noticed how cold it was in there until she saw the beginnings of frost on Elsa's glass. _Gee, that's some ice…wait it's the air that's cold._

After seeing this, she looked up at Elsa who seemed to have a look of panic on her eyes before changing her expression. Holly noticed that she didn't want her to see how she was reacting and furrowed her brow. The room was still quite cool though which made Holly wonder if it was more than just hefty air conditioning.

"Are you cold?" she asked with a small shiver. Her ribs ached in protest, reminding her of her fall but she shook it off. There was something about this chill that made her nervous and she wanted to try and make sense of things.

Elsa seemed to think about this for a moment, something Holly felt was a bit odd. Usually someone would realize quite quickly if they were hot or cold. "A bit why?" She noticed the blonde began to trace her finger over the rim of her water glass.

"Because it's freezing in here, enough to start frosting your glass," she replied.

If she hadn't seen it, she wouldn't have believed it. Elsa tensed when she mentioned the cool air and pinched the rim of the glass. A small layer of ice formed over the top of the water in her glass and Elsa quickly shifted her grip. Realizing that this was no act of faulty machinery, she looked over at Elsa with a reserved confusion that hid a small degree of fear, "Elsa, what's going on?"

"I don't know," the blonde answered quickly while stretching her fingers around the glass. This time, all the water in the glass froze. Holly's eyes seemed stuck on the image of the solid water in her glass but something wasn't clicking in her head. _How is this possible?_

"If there is something you're not telling me, please do," Holly said with a degree of concern and fear in her voice. She looked over at Elsa to see that the blonde's eyes were flitting around, from her to the scene around her. They hadn't attracted attention but the cooler temperature of the restaurant didn't go unnoticed.

Before she could say anything more, Elsa bolted from the table and ran out of the restaurant, leaving Holly sitting there stunned for a moment while staring at the frozen water glass versus the one still full of liquid.

It took the waiter coming with the food for her to snap out of it, she decided not to explain and pulled out her wallet. She did the math of the uneaten dinner in her head and threw fifty on the table.

"Keep the change," she called back to him and ran out after Elsa. When she flew out the door, she stopped short when she had propelled herself outside, and it was then that she truly understood.

"It's snowing…"

/-/

It didn't take long for the smaller girl to catch up to Elsa. The little snow flurry that occurred around them didn't seem to slow either party down as they ran through the streets of Arendelle. She had kept her in sight for a while but when she lost her, the girl's discarded blue pumps let her know that she was on the right track. Eventually, Holly slowed down at the entrance of a park. Through the falling snow, she could make out Elsa's form seated very dejectedly on a swing on the other side. Out of breath, Holly walked over towards her.

"Elsa," she called out when she was relatively close to the girl. She saw her whip around and look at her, eyes full of shame and self-deprecation. When she prepared herself to bolt again, Holly held out a hand and wheezed slightly. "Please don't take off again, I don't think I could run after you," she said before collapsing into the swing beside Elsa's.

The blonde sat back in her seat and hugged her knees to bury her face in. She said nothing for a good long time and eventually began to mumble something that Holly couldn't make out. It took everything in her not to go over there and wrap her arms around Elsa, but she knew she would scare her off indefinitely if she did.

"I'm sorry," Holly said quietly from her seat, "if you don't want to deal with me I understand. I shouldn't have said anything. I'll leave you in peace." With so much reluctance, she stood up from her swing and turned toward the edge of the park. She paused for a moment to look at Elsa as she sat there looking so vulnerable and hurt. When the blonde lifted her head, she dropped her gaze.

"It's not your fault," she answered almost inaudibly as the smaller girl stood there, unsure of where to go or what to do. "I lost control. Usually I can control it but sometimes it slips. At least it's better than it used to be," she said with self-deprecating sarcasm.

Holly stood for a moment thinking of what Elsa could have meant by it being better. True, the fact that she could wield the power of winter was impressively terrifying, but the way Elsa talked about it was as if it were a curse that no one should have to be privy to. "How do you mean?" She asked dryly. Elsa sat quietly and held an expression that would indicate that she didn't want to talk about it. Holly was compelled to drop it but felt like she needed to know the truth.

"Do you remember the blizzard in early November a couple if years ago that practically stopped everything in Arendelle?" Elsa asked finally with a look that practically spoke for her: _You can put two-and-two together._

"I see," Holly answered and sat back down in her seat, "so you can control cold weather," she mused aloud as she looked up at the small flurry that was beginning to create a good dusting of snow over the summer grass.

"It's not something I'm proud of," Elsa said with a hint of disdain.

Holly turned to look at Elsa as she sat there trying to conceal her emotions. For the first time in a long time, she took a risk because she felt like she had nothing to lose. "Why not?"

"It's a curse," Elsa snapped. When she turned to face her, Holly saw all the fear, vulnerability and anxiety that she bottled up inside of her and wanted to make her feel better, though she didn't know how.

"It's only a curse if you see it as one," Holly replied and rested her gaze on Elsa's blue eyes, "I see it as something that only you have and that has the ability to be beautiful despite its power," she replied with such sincerity that she felt as if she were serving her heart on a silver platter. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't afraid. When was she not afraid in her life? Fear practically ruled over Holly and it was battling in her in that very moment. It would be easy to just go back to her car and hide away from the world.

_Would you rather endure a moment of misery or regret never having loved?_

The words she exchanged with Anna came back to her and made her evaluate what she was feeling. She had regretted never having loved. Yes, she was afraid, but Elsa probably was too. There's peril in every second of life, she could take a chance if she was willing. "I know it's a double-edged sword as everything is in life but Elsa, this is something special and it's something special that I want to be a part of."

When she stopped talking, she saw that Elsa was wordlessly watching her. Holly realized that she hadnt hid any emotion from the poor girl and became immediately bashful. She dropped her gaze to her shoes that were now lightly coated in snow. Scuffing the fluffy white flakes, she waited for Elsa to respond.

"Are you afraid of me?" Elsa asked finally.

Holly hesitated for a moment. She couldn't lie to her but she didn't want to hurt her either. With a deep breath, she sighed. "Not of you, you're a sweet person. I'll admit though, what you can do makes me a bit nervous."

Elsa let out a sad guffaw that broke Holly's heart. "You phrase it so nicely. I'm a monster, Holly. I can destroy anything in my path. Nothing can stop me, at least nothing I know of." Immediately, her eyes dropped to her hands which she held tightly to her chest.

Banishing any insecurities, fear and protesting voices in her mind, Holly stood and took a couple of steps toward her. "I know you could, but would you? Testament to it, I'm still here and not a Popsicle back in the restaurant."

"I wasn't that upset," Elsa replied, "I was partially in control, it's when I'm not at all that things happen."

"Elsa, I know you're powerful and that it could cause problems, but if you haven't noticed, I'm willing to take risks," she held up her casted forearm for proof, "I could die any day from anything and the fact that I've lived this long is something that I'm personally proud of. I don't want to run and hide away from everything anymore. Safety is nice but it gets really damn lonely. I just want to feel something positive in the little time I have left in life. Yes, I may be terrified but I can't go on living hiding away in fear, I don't want to anymore."

_You're pathetic. You want to be loved you so bad, you'll let yourself turn into an idiot in public. Elsa doesn't deserve someone like you. Think about it, she has powers that only Marvel could dream of, powers that could easily maim or kill. She could be with anyone she wants. Why on earth would she love someone as idiotic and ordinary as you? What makes you think you deserve her attention? Or love at all? You're flattering yourself._

"But you could get hurt from just being anywhere near me. I don't want to hurt you, I don't want to hurt anyone," Elsa retorted, trying to unsuccessfully hide her anxieties.

Holly tore her eyes away from Elsa's and down to the plastered forearm that she was inadvertently holding. The little snowflakes sat atop the plaster the same as before but now they had a meaning on top of the one that Holly gave them. She looked at her favourite then at the coded one beside it. In that moment she looked back and thought of the risks they took, albeit harmless in comparison, to get to where they were. It was a start.

_You never cared before of what people thought of you but you care about what she thinks. It's probably because she's one of the few that is even slightly interested in you. You realize though, she's trying to spare you from herself._

Holly let that sink in for a moment. Maybe she was, the exact reason she could be 100% certain, but the one thing she was certain about was that she didn't want to lose everything she had just worked for, "For the first time in a long time, it's actually a nice change to actually _feel _something positive. I know you're trying to save me from yourself but I don't want to be saved. I'm not perfect, quite flawed actually. I live my life in fear, I indulge in my insecurities and I push _everyone_ away...except you. I haven't pushed you away and that is why I'd rather not be saved. If I want to risk it all, that's up to me and I want to try Elsa."

Elsa stood up from her swing and fixed her gaze with Holly's own. The two silently exchanged emotion and feeling just through unbroken eye contact for a few long moments. Deciding to raise the stakes for both of them, she held out her arms to invite her in. Seeing her outstretched arms, Elsa bit her lip with uncertainty and battled internally with what she should do. Eventually, she began to reciprocate the movements. With a stifled cry, Holly buried herself in the taller girl's embrace, hugging her back tightly. She felt Elsa tense but didn't dare let go, eventually relaxing when the blonde did so.

For a long time, the pair just stood there holding each other, Holly's face buried in Elsa's shoulder and Elsa's cheek buried in her hair. Their breathing had become in sync as the two just enjoyed the presence and contact of the other. Holly eventually adjusted her head to try and look up at Elsa which brought a bit of distance between their embrace. It was enough just so the pair could make eye contact and once they did, Holly smiled and let Elsa go a bit so she could stand.

"I don't think I'm wrong in trusting you," Holly answered quietly, "I want to stay here and I'm willing to take a chance if you'll let me."

Eventually, she saw Elsa nod. That was all the affirmation she needed for the moment. She knew her mind would bother her about it later but she decided to deal with it then and settled herself back into the hug, in no hurry to have it end.


	13. You are Your Own Worst Enemy

**A/N: for those who didn't notice, I adjusted the last chapter. Reading that first will help with the mental focus in this one. Thanks all!**

* * *

The rest of the date went relatively well after the pair finally separated and decided to go eat something. Once Elsa's shoes were back on her feet and they had made their way back to the car, the pair had decided on something a little less fancy. After eating some burgers, they both decided that it was probably best to call it a night. Although they didn't want to admit it, both parties were stressed from what happened and still needed to process it all.

When Holly's car slowed to a stop by the curb to Elsa's driveway, the elder girl sat in the passenger seat wordlessly, unsure of what she was supposed to say.

"Here's home," Holly said with a downturn to her voice. Elsa wasn't sure if it was because it meant that the date was over or that it was residual from earlier. Despite how adamant she was about trying to make an effort, Elsa wasn't fooled. She knew that Holly was afraid, however, to what degree she wasn't completely certain.

"I'm sorry for this evening." Elsa realized how that could have been interpreted and shut her eyes tightly. Mentally scolding herself, she opened her mouth to try and clarify about what she meant but Holly managed to cut her off.

"It's okay," Holly answered but kept her eyes on the steering wheel. Elsa watched her for a minute or two before turning her own gaze to her hands.

The blonde noticed the awkward silence in the car and felt compelled to break it, "it was enjoyable." Usually she was able to sit through moments like these and remain externally unfazed, but this instant in particular bothered her.

"I'm glad," Holly responded and looked up toward her. Her gaze appeared sincere but Elsa could tell that she was hiding something. In the few encounters that they had, Holly was seldom a woman of few words. "Well you know where to find me if you want to do anything," the dirty blonde added before dropping her gaze away from Elsa.

"Would you want to?" Elsa asked with anticipation and worry. The fact that she had been so extreme on the first date was something that scared people, even herself. She really hoped she didn't scare her off too.

"Yes," Holly answered. Her tone was firm but Elsa could sense the hesitation. _Now you've done it. Don't be surprised if it turns out to just be lip service._

"Okay," Elsa answered and undid her seatbelt. When she opened the door and stepped out of the green sedan, she turned to look at its driver and began to fiddle with her braid, "call me if you want to set anything up?"

Holly brought her gaze up to meet Elsa's for a moment before retreating it to the steering wheel again. "Okay, I just don't know what's going on with me returning to work next week, I'll let you know."

_Yup, definitely lip service._

"Alright, goodnight," Elsa replied and closed the door behind her. With a heavy sense of disappointment, she made her way over her parents' soft lawn that had absorbed the melted snow. She walked to the porch and let herself inside.

Both her parents and Anna were sitting in the living room as she walked in. Trying to remain discreet, she closed the door but not quiet enough to go unnoticed. Soon, her entire family's attention was diverted to her and she could tell by their expressions that they already knew.

"Elsa," her mother began but Elsa was in no mood. She didn't want to be pitied, just to be left alone. Slipping her shoes off, she scooped them up and jumped up the stairs to her bedroom. She was nearly to her room when she heard Anna noisily following her.

_Good grief, you'd think my sister _was_ a horse. She's been hanging around Kristoff too much. Now she sounds like him._

Elsa skidded into her room and threw the pumps in her closet. As Anna reached the top of the stairs, she began to close the door until she heard what sounded like a strangled yell come out of Anna.

"Oh no, you're not closing the door on me Elsa," she growled and skidded into the door frame.

"Please, just leave me alone."

"After the latest weather phenomena, no way. What the hell happened?" Anna had bustled into her room at this point and sat herself on Elsa's bed, "there was snow, not much but enough."

"Yes Anna, it snowed. Freak things happen," Elsa snapped before walking into her tiny closet and closing the door. If Anna was going to be insistent about being there, she at least wanted to change in privacy.

"This wasn't Mother Nature and you know it. Elsa, I'm worried about you and Holly. What happened that was so bad?" She asked imploringly. Although Elsa couldn't see her from behind the wooden door, she could practically feel her sister's worry seeping through the crack. With a sigh, she opened her closet door and slipped out in her pyjamas.

"She figured it out."

"How?"

Elsa leaned against her bedroom wall and closed her eyes. As much as she loved Anna and did usually enjoy talking to her, she still felt too emotionally involved in the situation to want to talk about it at that very moment. Apparently, it didn't go unnoticed since her room was now cold with a few flakes coming down from the ceiling. She opened her eyes to see if she could delay the conversation until later but the look on Anna's face told her she couldn't. "I asked her something personal that I shouldn't have and it upset her. Naturally, I was upset at myself for doing that, let it slip, and she caught on."

Anna looked at her sister confusedly for a moment until it dawned on her. "Oh, you brought up she-who-must-not-be-named didn't you?"

Elsa narrowed her eyes at her and slid down the wall to the floor. "Not on purpose, I didn't know it was a touchy subject. And seriously? That's not an original nickname," Elsa replied defensively.

Anna shrugged and went to sit beside her, "that's just what Kristoff calls her since he won't mention much about it. I didn't know what was going on in Holly's school life at the time so I've never known much about what happened. I'm sorry, I feel like I should have warned you."

"That would have been beneficial," Elsa replied and rested her head on her knees, "especially since I'm pretty sure I really screwed up."

"Maybe not," Anna replied trying to reassure her, "Holly's tough, it takes a lot to intimidate her."

Elsa sat up with her eyes closed in anger and frustration at herself. She felt like kicking herself for slipping up like that. She had been so extreme on the first date. Most people were scared off anyway, never mind anyone interested in her. Now she probably had scared Holly off too. She turned to look at Anna and sighed.

"She is afraid of me, and I don't know if she would even want to look at me again."

* * *

Holly had waited a while after Elsa got herself inside before turning the ignition on. She paused after that even just because she kept finding herself drowning in all the thoughts and emotions running around in her mind. Ever since they sat down at the burger place, her mind decided to plague her non-stop with everything she felt and experienced. Somehow, she made her way home and walked herself aimlessly inside.

"Well you're home early," her mother called from the living room. Holly couldn't help but roll her eyes as she imagined how her mother's eyebrows must be past her hairline in surprise.

"As promised," Holly replied.

"How was the coming out party?"

Holly froze for a moment misinterpreting her mother's original meaning of 'coming out'. When she remembered the lie, she relaxed and replied from her post, "It was quiet, no interesting boys."

"Oh." Her mother's voice was practically laced with disappointment.

"Did you see the snow?" Her father called out to her over the blare of the news. Holly paused in surprise, her father rarely addressed her outside of obligatory conversations.

"Ya why?" Holly asked not really knowing what he was getting at.

"Well, it makes sense! Of course it snows the night before that...that _festival_. I'm telling you Maude, it's a sign. Those gays are an abomination!"

Holly couldn't handle another word of it. As quietly as she could, she sped up the stairs and to the attic without a look back. When she was up there, she let all her emotions from the evening out. Yelling and sobbing, she succumbed to the tirades of her mind as they recalled the memories of the day, including the recap of her previous relations. Because of that, her mind decided to replay her encounter with her supposed ex-girlfriend.

...

Holly was only fifteen when she ended her last attempt at a heterosexual courtship. She could never understand it. Yes, there were dirtbags and idiots but there were guys that she dated that were sweet and kind. Why didn't it ever seem to work? It was like nothing ever clicked.

Earlier in the school year, she had been casted in the production for the annual theatre festival. Every year, high schools from all over came into Arendelle to compete and display their most evocative pieces. Since the rehearsal schedule had grown more demanding, Holly was relieved to have ended the relationship when she had so she didn't have to deal with not having time for the guy.

During the first rehearsal with the production crew, Holly silently watched everyone and got to know them as they worked around the space. She wasn't very social so she was perfectly happy with simply watching them work. During that time though, she noticed that one girl was looking at her. It wasn't a usual passing glance but as if she saw her as more than just a necessary artistic vessel. She was cordial to her when she tried to converse with her but Holly kept her at an arm's length. Her inquisitive and sweet nature eventually wore Holly down enough that she let her become her friend.

After that, they were inseparable. The two got along so well that they were always together, even when their different years dictated their classes. After a while though, Holly noticed herself getting an attachment to this girl. She had heard of homosexuality but never saw herself that way. Her parents were avidly against it so it simply wasn't an option for her to consider. She remained friends with her but kept reassuring herself that they were just very good friends and that was all.

Eventually, roles had been given out and she was assigned as Holly's dresser. When her costume was picked out, Holly found herself feeling self-conscious. During dress rehearsals, she had to do a full quick change which hyped up her anxieties. The fact that she had to strip down to her undergarments around her new friend was a little embarrassing...and exposing. When they got into costume, she noticed that her friend was looking at her costume. _No, not the costume. She's looking at you._

Holly tried to pass off the other girl's eye wanderings as subconscious. It wasn't until one of the final dress rehearsals that she noticed her eyes travelling during the quick change. She felt compelled to be embarrassed, ashamed or anything negative. But truthfully, she didn't. If anything, she liked the attention she was getting. It was a nice change from blending into the wall.

Show day arrived and so did Holly's butterflies. She kept battling with herself internally, insisting they were stage butterflies but she knew better. She never had stage butterflies. During the prep period and their time backstage before the show, she never left Holly's side. They talked and she asked of she was nervous.

"Actually I am, it's really weird," Holly answered and flattened out the skirt of her dress, "productions rarely ever make me this nervous."

"Maybe it's because you know someone is watching you and you want to do your best," she answered and placed her hand on Holly's knee, "You'll be amazing, I just know it."

Thank goodness Holly didn't have a lot of makeup on because she was blushing enough to make up for it. The show started off and got off to a great start. Everything was running smoothly and Holly was approaching that quick change at an alarming pace. When she said her last line, she bolted offstage and held herself straight for the dress to be taken off of her. She worked quickly but gently as she tugged the dress off and eased Holly into a pantsuit.

"You've lost the colour in your cheeks," she commented and nipped her lower lip. With a swift kiss to the cheek, she shoved Holly back onstage.

Feeling practically every emotion in the book, Holly felt as if her brain was overloading. The only thing that was certain was the feeling in her like she was full of Helium. With a beaming smile, she realized that that little stunt made her forget her lines. Luckily, she was prompted by another cast member and she picked up where she needed to. Soon the curtain had closed and everyone collided in a cast hug. In the midst of it, Holly noticed she had made her way over to her and was hugging only her.

"I told you that you'd be amazing," she whispered in her ear and craned her head to kiss her. Feeling stuck between fighting it and giving into what she was truly looking for, she felt her lips collide with the other girl's. It was short but it was plenty for Holly. Stark red, she looked at her full of emotional turmoil. She feared that this was true, for the rejection she faced. But in the same instance, nothing felt so right.

She knew in that moment that she couldn't deny herself any longer, and not long after was when her nightmare began.

A few days later, school resumed as usual and everything seemed back to normal. Except one thing: her new-found lover was nowhere to be found. For more than a week, she stayed out of school, filling Holly with panic and worry. When she finally returned, Holly was so relieved that she was alright that she went straight to her. It was only when she saw the different stance and attitude that Holly realized something was wrong. She was cordial at first but in no way romantic.

At first, Holly was confused. It wasn't until she stopped dealing with her altogether that she began to understand. _You were her experiment. Now that she realizes where she stands, she doesn't want you anymore. _Holly refused to believe it at first but the sad truth was still in front of her every day. Eventually, she stopped looking at Holly altogether. When she did, Holly finally couldn't take it anymore.

"What the hell is going on?" She said when she found her trying to avoid her in the cafeteria one day.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she answered coolly.

"You bloody-well do, less than a month ago, you kissed me full-out on the lips. And don't tell me it was a one-time thing because I saw the way you used to look at me."

"Good lord, looked at you? Please, don't flatter yourself," she sneered and turned to walk away again. As much as it wounded her, she wasn't just going to let it go.

"I'm not. I don't appreciate being your experiment. If you wanted some chick to test your theory, you picked the wrong lesbian," she blurted angrily. When she realized what she had said, she turned to look and majority of the cafeteria was looking back at her. She saw some of the jocks snicker at their table and immediately wished that she could just vaporize.

"So you are a lesbian? Well, that proves everything. You know what, I feel sorry for you. So desperate to be loved that you'll avert to to other girls? The fact that no one's ever going to end up with you is a bit disheartening, _a bit_," she said with a caustic laugh and headed towards a table full of guys, one being her recent ex. She couldn't describe the amount of hurt she felt.

"So now that you've succeeded in this escapade, I have to ask. What the hell was your motivation, Theresa?"

The girl simply answered the question when she stretched her palm out to Holly ex-boyfriend. When he plopped a bill into her hand, Holly shut her eyes and tried to bury everything in herself again. _A stupid bet..._

...

That was the first time in a long time that she relived the entire sequence of events, including mentioning Theresa's name. Her fit of tears had calmed down to just sniffles as she settled herself into that old IKEA chair.

"Mrow." She looked down to see Pablo had emerged and was swatting her leg with some form of cat concern. With a sniff, she picked him up and stuffed her face in his wiry fur. Although he let out a 'mow' of shock and upset, he rested against her and let her use him as a pillow.

"Pablo, why does love have to be so hard?" She asked and sat him down on her lap. When he looked up at her with a blank expression, she wiped her eyes and nodded, "right, you're neutered. You don't have this problem."

He let out an indignant meow before jumping off her lap and finding an old ottoman to be his new bed, leaving her to sit and really think of everything.

_So Elsa can control snow and ice._

_Well that's not exactly the most average thing in the world._

_True but why are you afraid of it?_

_...because it could kill you. Or worse, hurt you._

Holly thought about that last bit for a long time. Was it that she was avoiding being hurt all this time? Very likely, when you're hurt once, it isn't something you forget. Except that Elsa was never a cause of anguish for her.

Her thought process was interrupted with a series of beeps from her cellphone. It was Anna, classically stuck in the middle.

_Hey, I heard about what happened. I'm sorry it didn't go great but as your friend and Elsa's sister, I'm worried about both of you. Can I help make it any better?_

Holly tossed her phone over in Pablo's direction. When it ricocheted on the corner of the ottoman, he shot her a filthy look and hunkered down into his spot. All she wanted was to be left alone for a little bit so she could figure everything out. She understood that Anna was concerned for her and Elsa but right now she didn't want to play messenger.

Ignoring her phone on the floor, Holly tried to decipher why it was that she was so afraid of getting hurt. Elsa seemed like a good person to be around. Plus, Anna would have warned her about anything. So why then was she so worried of getting hurt?

_Are you worried of getting physically hurt or getting burned again?_

Holly shut her eyes as the question popped into her brain. It made complete sense now, she was worried about getting used or toyed with again the same as she was before, not of getting frozen. Physical health was lower on Holly's list of things to protect. She had been through a lot in her life and how she interacted with people was the most vulnerable thing in her eyes. She could control herself, but she couldn't control other people and that was what terrified her.

Could she control Elsa? _No way, tonight was proof of that_. But in all honesty, did she want to? _No, not really_.

Holly sat in her chair and gave herself a few moments to recover from all the emotion that had come crashing down over the course of the past while. She had buried her feelings deep inside her whenever something happened. Days, weeks, months and years later, it had all surged forward and now she was wading through the sea of catharsis. Feeling shaky from letting it all out, she sat still and fixed her eyes on her cellphone laying flat on the floor.

She knew what she had to do. She couldn't bury inside herself any longer. She couldn't deny herself love out of fear of being hurt anymore. She couldn't run from everything in the world despite how hard she tried. She had to face everything sooner or later, and now was the best time. The only thing Holly really feared was rejection and apathy and the only way she could fight that was to try again.

With a new-found determination, she stood up and scooped the cellphone off of the floor with her good hand. Looking over her snowflakes for inspiration, she opened up a new message destined for Elsa. In that moment, her bravery faltered. What if she didn't want to deal with her anymore? What if she realized she could do way better than small, simple, broken Holly? _You promised you would try, so do it._

With an anxious sigh, she rapped out the text and sat back in the chair. When it was done, she looked it over multiple times to make sure it was okay-sounding. It was just a simple 'please call me' but Holly was worried and stalling. Eventually she mustered up the courage to hit the envelope button and began waiting. Around a minute later, it was vibrating with a call.

"Hello?"

"Hey." Elsa's voice on the other end was so small it made Holly close her eyes with guilt.

"I'm sorry about tonight. I promise, that was my worst secret so it can't get any worse." _Shut up, you're groveling._

"It wasn't your fault. I should have taken better care."

Holly took a pause wondering how else she should reply, but thought of no other answer, "Elsa, it's okay, shit happens." When she heard a delicate chuckle on the other side, instantly she felt better.

"Still, I made it snow in the middle of July," Elsa replied. Her tone was a bit lighter but it was still serious enough to worry Holly.

"Well it was more like a flurry and it was pretty contained. It didn't snow out by me."

"It didn't?" Elsa asked incredulously.

"Nope, so you only dusted maybe half of Arendelle."

"Really? That is interesting," the blonde mused and went quiet. Holly began to panic but quickly dashed it away when she realized that Elsa was thinking on the other end. _So fricking adorable._

"What are you thinking of?"

"Why you still want anything to do with me," Elsa answered with hesitation to her voice. The severity didn't occur to Holly that Elsa worried so much that she would not want to be around her any longer. She felt a bit guilty but mainly wanted to comfort her.

"I promised I'd stick around. I didn't do that because I felt obligated to," Holly said before going quiet, "I want to."

After a small pause, she heard the blonde respond, "why?"

"Because I care about you," Holly shut her eyes and waited to see how her offer was going to be accepted. Now, she really felt like her vital organ was being served on a silver platter.

"I care about you too."


	14. Rainbows Everywhere

Holly hung up the phone after both her and Elsa were relaxed and more at ease with the situation they were in. Holly was more confident that she would be okay and Elsa seemed to be more at ease with herself and her. She promised to take it slow, the same as when she first started her with Olaf, to get Elsa used to her and to ease both their anxieties. Having a game plan put everything into perspective for both of them and relaxed them enough to realize they were quite fatigued from the night's antics.

Holly sprawled out in the IKEA chair and looked over to Pablo to see how he was doing. When she saw his yellow eyes looking back at her, she smiled at the ginger tabby. He mewed from his spot and wagged his tail, asking for affection. Seeing his rarer soft side coming out, she scooped him up and headed for the door, "c'mon you, you're bunking with me tonight."

After making a soft bed out of laundry and blankets on her desk chair, Pablo sat perched atop his new soft mound like a little king. He began to happily clean his face while she busied around her room looking for suitable pyjamas to wear. Since the coolness from Elsa's scare earlier, the heat wave had returned with a vengeance and left her with few night clothes that she wouldn't sweat to death in.

_Nude is out, you have no privacy in this house._

After some serious searching, she found an old tank top and pulled it over herself. In just that and her underwear, she turned on her fan and laid over top of her sheets.

"Mow," Pablo called insistently. Holly could tell by his stance that he wanted to jump to the bed but his arthritic hips would kill him if he tried.

"Hang on little buddy," she called and transferred him. When he was safely on the bed, he ambled over to the head of the bed and laid himself close to her. She stroked his fur and watched him as he quietly purred. As she did, her mind thought of how he was the only one in this house who really knew her and cared about her.

_...the night before that...that _festival_. I'm telling you Maude, it's a sign. Those gays are an abomination!_

Holly ground her teeth together as her father' swords replayed in her mind from earlier. _ Maybe you're the abomination, ever thought of that?_ She wanted to spit back now that she had some confidence back in her.

Just in that moment, an idea dawned in her mind. 'That festival' that he so wonderfully coined was Arendelle's annual pride festival. The Pride festival kicked off after the parade and lasted an entire week, the one week that her parents never went downtown no matter what. She had always wanted to go but never had out of fear of being found out. This year, however, she was feeling a bit rebellious.

When she looked back at Pablo, he was looking at her expectantly. **You're plotting something, and as your cat I have a right to know**. She laughed and rubbed him under the chin, "Well sir, this year is going to be different. I don't give a shit anymore, I am going to the Arendelle pride parade tomorrow come hell or high water."

Pablo sneaked open and eye and resumed his purring. **Good luck, you'll need it.**

/-/

Holly woke up the next morning with a plan in mind. The parade was televised so she knew that she needed to scope out a spot that was not close to where the press camped out. Although she was defying her parents, she didn't want disownment just yet, after all where's all the fun if her father had to find out over the nine o'clock news?

She walked downstairs to see that her father had already left for work. Since her mother only worked part time, today was one of her days off, sadly. Holly didn't want to have to explain her lie to anyone's face but figured she would have to at some point.

"Do you have plans for the day?" Her mother asked in a bored tone.

"I'm resuming my work at the stables today, I already cleared it with Mr. Oaken."

Her mother paused and exhaled heavily, clearly disapproving. "You broke your arm two weeks ago, is he that stretched for help that he couldn't find a replacement?" Her mother's anguish toward her returning to Arendelle Stables was for multiple reasons: because Holly was indulging in unladylike habits again, she would need the second car, and she couldn't keep as watchful of an eye on her whenever her whimsical suspicions popped up.

_It hasn't even been 2 weeks, nice try though mom._ "A lot of the staff are either away on holiday or want to go to the pride festival-"

"Why would anyone want to see that?" Her mother snapped and bored her eyes into Holly's.

"How would I know? I could care less, hence me returning," she lied smoothly. Her mother seemed to buy her response and said nothing more on the subject of the pride parade.

"I want the car back by 5," she said and turned to leave.

"That's ok, mom. I was planning to get a ride up with Anna since she switched over to Saturdays permanently," she replied to her mother's turned back. It was much easier to lie to someone who wasn't glaring at you like they wanted to do exploratory surgery to find out everything.

"Oh, alright then," her mother replied with a sort of happy tone as she walked to the back door and went out into the garden. Holly rewarded herself with a coy smile when she was out of sight and went upstairs to fetch her backpack. When she came back down, she slipped out the door and made her way over toward the nearest bus stop.

Around a half-hour later, the city bus that Holly was on had finally made its way into the downtown area. She stayed on it until the bus reached the downtown terminal, letting her off to explore and begin to look for any sign of the parade route.

After walking over to the Village area, Holly walked through the streets with a happy smile on her face. Everyone was out and about, saying hello to each other and enjoying the day. As she walked through the little niche in the city, she felt as if she really belonged here. Like this could be home someday. _Home_.

When she reached the other end of the block, she saw the barricades and began to find a good spot to sit and wait for when the parade came. It was still mid-morning so the sun wasn't strong nor was the heat stifling. She sat on the warm asphalt and rested against one of the barricades. As the sun gleamed down on her, Holly closed her eyes and began to daydream, not noticing them growing lucid as she slowly began to drift off.

A blissfully cool stroke across her forehead was what woke Holly up again. When her vision and brain was awake enough to comprehend who had touched her, she blinked to register everything and make sure that she wasn't still dreaming.

"Hey you," Elsa said looking down at her sitting there.

"Hey, what're you doing here?" Holly asked, still a little foggy from sleep. A gentle laugh came from Elsa which made Holly blush. _ I love that sound_.

"The same reason you are," she replied and held a palm out cautiously to help her up.

"Touché," she replied and took Elsa's hand gently with her good one. Her cool skin felt like a wonderful escape from the climbing heat. It was then that she realized that she had fallen asleep directly in the sun. Groaning in despair, she began to search her exposed skin to see if it was stark red yet.

"Don't worry, I don't think you were sunburned," she replied softly and eyed her skin as well. Her gaze though was different from Holly's. Elsa seemed to be enjoying what she saw rather than inspecting it. It faintly reminded her of the way Theresa used to look at her, but Elsa's gaze was nowhere near as hungry or harsh.

"What time is it?" She asked trying to figure out how long she was asleep for.

"11:30."

Holly sighed and smiled with relief, "only out a bit less than a half-hour. I was really lucky I didn't crisp up and that you came by."

A rosy colour began to grow in Elsa's cheeks. She looked down at the hand they still shared and gave the slightest of squeezes, "thank you."

"No my dear, thank you," Holly replied and leaned against the barricade. She watched Elsa stand beside her and nudged her gently, "hey, why don't we just have fun today? No expectations or formalities, just be ourselves."

"Just ourselves?" Elsa mirrored quizzically.

"Mhm, not every date has to be fancy dinners. Actually, this is my favourite kind of date," Holly replied and watched Elsa's expression, hoping she didn't push the blonde too far. When she saw her smile and josh her back playfully, Holly relaxed and leaned close to her.

"It's my favourite kind too. Well then, its a date," Elsa said happily.

At noon, the parade began. Everyone whooped, sang and cheered as everyone went by. There was more rainbow to be seen than anywhere else in the residing countryside. There were people dancing, kissing, even walking around without clothes. Holly managed to spare Elsa's eyes a few times but she was rarely saved from the views that occasionally came.

As the parade continued on and the summer sun grew more intense, Holly began to feel a little bit sick. She was used to it since she was more sensitive to the heat than anything else. Elsa must have noticed because ever so slowly, she inched her arm around her upper back. The coolness instantly pulled the heat away enough to calm her queasiness and she looked up at Elsa with a smile.

"Thank you," she said and gently leaned in to Elsa's side, constantly watching to make sure that she wasn't overstepping any boundaries. As her blush grew, Holly stifled a giggle and settled into her little cool niche for the rest of the parade.

After the parade was over, the crowds began to head into the Village to continue on with the rest of the festival. Everywhere there was food, clothes, items of all sorts just for the pride festival. Holly had convinced Elsa to go into the village before the very end of the parade so she didn't feel nervous when the crowds did come.

"I'm sure nothing really important happens at the very end. Just cops, firefighters and stuff like that."

"Actually, the city's mounted police unit does put on an epic display with the horses," Elsa teased playfully.

"I'll see it next year then," Holly mused and continued into the village holding Elsa's hand. They walked around the vendors until a tank top caught Holly's eye. There it hung, in light yellow with an illustration of an inactive volcano and the word 'Dyke' written across the front. With a heavy laugh, she ran and picked it up, "this is perfect!"

Elsa looked at it confusedly then up to Holly. "I don't get it."

"It's an earth science joke. A dyke is another name for the channel in a volcano that isn't used anymore. The stupid things I remember from my context credits," Holly answered with a small smile on her face. When Elsa got the joke, she laughed alongside her.

"Well, get it then," Elsa said.

Holly hesitated and thought about if her parents discovered it. It was true that a dyke was a scientific term but try to explain that to her mom and dad. "I can't, I wouldn't be able to take it home."

"I'll hang onto it. Plus, it'll give you a spare shirt if you end up over at ours," Elsa replied quietly and watched to see what she would do.

"Alright then," Holly chirped and walked over to the vendor with it.

"Oh my goodness! What happened to you?" He asked with shock and concern. It took a second for her to realize that he was looking at her forearm which was encased in plaster and acted as a temporary closet pole for the shirt on its hanger.

"Oh, horseback riding accident. I don't remember much of it," she replied truthfully.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I bet you must have been worried sick, not leaving her bedside for a second," he said moving his gaze to Elsa. The blonde grew pink with the attention but Holly watched her in awe.

"She was," she replied and looked to her for confirmation. When Elsa nodded, the significance of that time really hit home to her.

"Well at least you're doing better now, have a nice day!" He said happily to them. When they walked a bit away from the vendor, Holly looked at her snowflakes then up at Elsa.

"Thank you, Elsa."

"For what?" The blonde asked while looking back at Holly.

"For being there for me, I wasn't lying that day when I said it meant a lot to me. You're the most wonderful person," Holly answered and took her hand again.

Elsa squeezed back and pressed herself right beside her, "I'm not wonderful, but I'll always care about you."

"That's all I'll ever need."

The pair wandered around the village for the rest of the afternoon. They got food, got their photo taken, they danced in the streets (Elsa in a very modest fashion), and they sang until they were hoarse. Hours passed by though neither wanted the day to end. As the sun waned away and threatened for it to soon be dark, Holly decided that she should probably go home.

"It's getting late," she said looking at the colourful sky.

"So it is," Elsa mused and looked at the dirty blonde for a moment before dropping her gaze, "you have to go home, don't you?"

Reluctantly, Holly nodded. "I don't want my parents being too suspicious of me."

Elsa nodded understandingly and gestured towards the north end of the Village, "I can drive you home if you like."

"Don't you want to stay? And how did you manage to park down here?"

Elsa shook her head in response to the first question, "I have a friend who lives in the area and let me use her driveway."

"Nice," Holly replied and followed Elsa back to her friend's place. The house seemed empty, probably because it's inhabitants were at the festival. Elsa made no move to the door but instantly unlocked her car. Holly found herself looking around at the houses in the area and thought of how at-home she felt there, "Elsa, does the village seem homey to you?"

"It always has, it feels so inviting that I wish that I had discovered it before last year," she replied then looked at Holly, "why?"

"This feels like home to me. I could see myself living here sometime in the future with Pablo or Pablo Jr."

Elsa smiled gently and climbed into the driver's seat of the car. She waited until Holly was inside before starting the ignition. Once they were settled, she drove off towards Holly's suburb, letting Holly look at the picture of the two of them on the way.

When they reached her house, Holly sighed and shrugged. "Back to reality I guess," she said jokingly but she could tell that a Elsa saw through that. She didn't want to leave Elsa and the Village as a memory but knew that she would have to at least temporarily once she walked through that door.

"That could be a reality someday. For you and Pablo or Pablo Jr., maybe even for me," she replied. Holly looked at Elsa to see that she was sincere in her words. The fact that that could be even a slight possibility was thrilling beyond words. In the meantime though, she was perfectly happy with what she had. With a gentle gesture, she asked for a hug. When a Elsa hugged her back, she felt warmer. It was as if the last piece of puzzle had finally clicked into place. They remained in each other's arms for a while before Holly was able to let go.

"I better go in before my mother starts spying out the window," she said and opened the passenger door, "text when you're home so I know you got in okay?"

Elsa smiled at the smaller girl's adorable concern. She nodded and watched Holly go inside before starting the car back up and heading back home.

Holly walked in to hear her father cursing loudly about the parade being televised on the news. She rolled her eyes at his 2 minute coronary and headed upstairs. Once she was in her room, she sat on the bed next to Pablo who was still snuggling in her bed sheets.

**Well?**

"Success," she replied and turned on her computer. It rang out when it powered up, notifying her of an email. Unsure of who it could be, she opened her inbox. It was from Regina.

_Hey cuz,_

_I hope Aunt Maude and Uncle William aren't too tech savvy because there's a pic of you and Elsa on the Arendelle Pride's Twitter feed. You guys make a cute couple and don't worry, I'm still not telling anyone. See you in a month_.

Holly smiled a bit at the email and closed her laptop. Luckily, they weren't too tech savvy so she didn't have to worry about them finding it. Looking at the photo of her and Elsa, she knew she would have to find the perfect spot. It was just them with an arm around the other with a brick wall background, it was innocent enough. Walking over to the corkboard that hung on the back of her door, she pinned it up in the middle with her other photos of Olaf, Pablo, Anna and Kristoff. Looking happily at her photos, she looked at the one of her and Elsa the longest before her cellphone finally went off. Picking it up and reading Elsa's text, she replied and waited for the chain to continue.


	15. Raising the Stakes

The rest of the week went just as well as the first day of the Arendelle pride festival. Elsa and Holly decided to go to the festival every day whenever Holly could fit it around her resumed work schedule. They went to all sorts of events or sometimes just walked around aimlessly. Some days, Anna joined them and even dragged Kristoff. The entire week was a total blast and well-worth the excuses made to her parents.

Sadly though, all good things come to an end. The festival wrapped up on the Friday night and was left to be remembered until next year. Everyone fell back into their normal routine except Elsa and Holly who now had more coffee dates and other low-key meetings.

As time passed, Holly soon found herself preparing the stables for the Autumn and Winter months. Although it was still only late July, Mr. Oaken was convinced they would have an early snowfall this year.

_Elsa's little flurry probably didn't help. _ She thought with a smile and said nothing to him on the subject as she swung the hay around as if she wasn't partially encased in plaster.

One evening, Mr. Oaken returned from a short day trip with his trailer hitched to the back of the truck. When it slowed to a stop, he shut it off and climbed out.

"Holly! Come see our newest addition, I think you'll love him," he called out to her and headed toward the back of the trailer.

Thinking that refilling troughs could wait a second, she ran down and waited for Mr. Oaken to lead the new horse out. When he had emerged, Holly smiled and bounced a little. He looked just like Olaf except was a bit taller and was grayer, another Fjord.

"Holly, this is Marshmallow. He's Olaf's younger brother. I originally wanted to buy the pair when I first got Olaf but he was already spoken for. I'dve changed the name except its all he responds to now. Well, what do you think? He is a little rough around the edges."

Holly walked over to the Fjord and extended a hand out slightly in greeting. Seeing this, he laid his ears back and snorted. Clearly, he wasn't a lover of people.

"I was thinking," Mr. Oaken proposed, "that you could help to retrain him. He will be spending his time with Olaf and hopefully he'll learn that you're an okay person from his example. Of course, I understand if you don't want to-"

"Consider it done," Holly replied and held out her hand for the lead line. She knew that guiding a horse that was clearly mistrusting of her was risky but, clearly, she had endured worse.

"Alright, you be careful now, ya?" He called out to her and walked over to put away his truck and trailer. Holly gave a reassuring wave before turning to look at Marshmallow. She kept her stance passive, and he relaxed slightly. He was going to take a lot of time and effort, but he was worth it. Gently, she lead him over to Olaf's pasture and watched him quietly follow her.

When they were in view of the paddock, Marshmallow pricked his ears and let out a deep whinny in greeting. Olaf heard his relative's call and returned it with his own. Holly quickly escorted Marshmallow into the pasture and shut the gate after him when he bolted inside to greet his long-lost brother. She watched the two of them sniff each other and watched it turn into romping play. Thinking that she should return to those troughs, Holly left them as they kept playing and socializing.

As the weeks went by, Holly had learned a lot about Marshmallow from observing him around the stables: he liked children but mistrusted adults, had basic training in English riding and was food aggressive. Holly subconsciously rubbed the scraped-off bit of her cast that found out that realization. Over time, Marshmallow had grown used to her, under Olaf's guidance as Mr. Oaken predicted, and was now tolerant of her fettering with him and riding him. Though there were still days that there were bumps in the road. Sometimes, he'd get stubborn and either try to get aggressive or refuse to do what she asked. It didn't last long since she'd just utter a stern 'Marshall' and he would cave under the name like a little boy in trouble. With a chuckle, she would reassure him and continue on with their work.

One Sunday morning when she was grooming him in cross ties, a movement caught her eye at the barn's open door. She looked up and saw Serena walking over to Hans' horse's stall. Their eyes locked for a moment, ending with her scowling and going into the stall. With a raised eyebrow, Holly watched her lead the stallion out and put him into cross ties. She started to groom him and only stopped when she saw Holly looking at her incredulously. Sighing dramatically, she turned and stared her down, "what are you staring at?"

"I'm not staring. I just have no clue why you would be grooming Hans' horse. Usually he's the only one who does that," Holly replied matter-of-factly.

"He was out of commission for a bit and wanted me to keep an eye on him. Now he wants me to until he's found a new stable to switch to."

_That would explain the stall room for Marshmallow. _ "I'm surprised, you're doing favours for him now?" she asked wondering where this was going.

"Yes, he's charismatic, sweet and well-mannered. Why wouldn't I?" she snipped defensively.

"Because he's a sniveling little rat who can't handle his own game, I'dve thought after his and my last encounter that you'd see that," Holly said with a tight jaw.

"Liar," Serena growled and took a couple steps towards her, clearly trying to be intimidating.

That was when everything clicked in her mind. "You've got a thing for him," Holly muttered while turning her nose in disgust. Anger flared in her that this occurred. She had considered her a friend at one point, now this was it. "How cute. Was it jealousy, desperation or was he just really damn charming?"

"It's none of your business anyway, you had your chance but you chose that dumb blonde instead," Serena walked closer toward her as she uttered these words, clearly laced with poisonous wrath.

"Don't you _dare_ drag Elsa into this!" Holly spat and met the girl partway.

"Ooh, someone's protective."

"You know what, I'm glad I passed you up. You and Hans are made for each other."

She wasn't ready for it, but she took it as it came. A stiff slap graced her left cheekbone and stung her skin. Holly had to admit, she could throw one quite well, to the point she could feel her angry skin and the bruise beginning to form. Not even daring to let on how much that hurt, she just turned and glared Serena dead in the eye. Clearly, she must have been intimidating since she noticed the brunette begin to falter and back down. With a small smirk, she shook her head.

"You can keep you're stupid little coward of a boyfriend. Just remember, he was someone else's hand-me-down for a reason so don't come crying to me when it doesn't work. You had your chance, and you blew it big time." Holly left Serena with those words before turning back to Marshmallow. She heard her approach behind her but didn't turn to face her, nor did she have to.

When Serena ventured too close, Holly noticed out of the corner of her eye that Marshmallow went into predator mode. With his ears flat, eyes wide and teeth bared, he whinnied loudly and harshly before hopping towards her, though still confined by the cross ties. She heard Serena let out a yell of surprise and stumble back. When Holly turned to face her, she saw the girl looking fearfully between her and the horse beside her standing very aggressively.

_Either he's really unnerved by her or he's protecting you._

Although she probably shouldn't have rewarded the behaviour, she patted his neck to try and calm him down a bit. Only then did he relax a bit and drop his attack stance down a bit, but still held it enough to tell her that he was still watching her. She returned to Hans' horse only long enough to untie him, put him away and leave again. Once she was out the door, Marshmallow huffed and straightened up as if to say _I showed her._

With a small smile, Holly scratched him behind the ears and went to fetch the grooming brushes. "Ya big guy, you sure did."

Holly went on with his grooming and had a short hack with him but her mind was filled with that entire encounter. What a change, nearly a month ago she had just met Serena and in that time span she had supposedly liked her and now was with Hans. Seeing that made Holly wonder what her game plan even was at all. Was this just belated hormones or was it a spoof just like Theresa?... She banished any further thoughts of the other girl and focused on the present. It was a betrayal, but Holly didn't become emotionally attached to friends, except for Anna and Kristoff and the animals. But they were different, they had proven themselves and were worth caring for. She had began to build herself to care about Serena before everything went down. But it didn't matter anymore. What happened did happen and their relationship was over and beyond saving. Holly grazed her cheek and winced slightly at the shot of pain it caused. Having worked that out in her mind, she decided that she could go on the rest of her time up there in peace.

/-/

Holly sat herself on a bar stool in the ice cream parlour as she waited for Elsa to arrive. Her and Anna's parents were going over to the Emerald Isle for a wedding and planned on spending a little extra time out there travelling. Since today was their last day and the day they were flying out, Anna and Elsa were spending the morning together as a family before driving her parents to the airport. Hoping the pair weren't stuck in traffic, she waited.

Seeing a metal napkin dispenser, Holly picked it up and checked the bruise blossoming on her cheek and groaned. When she had returned from the stable, she had tried everything from ice to make-up but it was still angry enough for it to be noticeable. Hoping that it would go unnoticed or that she could come up with an excuse, she waited and practiced placing a hand over it even though it caused her pain.

Not long after, the silver hatchback pulled into the parking lot and Holly waved from inside the parlour. When Anna got out, she waved back and trotted inside, followed quickly by Elsa.

"Hey, you smell like barn," Anna teased and sat beside her friend.

"Good to see you too," Holly replied sarcastically.

"What happened?" Elsa asked worriedly. _Shit._ When Holly looked up, her eyes were locked on her cheek. _Of course she would notice, you idiot. The girl is dating you, she is going to notice when some chick pummels you in the face._

"I bailed again," Holly lied. She felt bad dumping the blame on Marshmallow but it was better than getting Elsa upset.

"The new Fjord chucked you?" Anna asked.

"Sorta, we tried cavalettis except I went over and he didn't."

"Yikes, I'm sorry," Anna said inspecting her friend for more bruising.

"Don't worry, I'm tough. I can deal with anything," Holly said pompously before laughing a bit. She wasn't watching Elsa since she knew her gaze would give her away but she could tell that the blonde's eyes were narrowed at her.

"Alright, tough guy. Excuse me while I go to the ladies room," Anna chirped in a posh tone before trotting off. The door to the bathroom hadn't even closed yet and Elsa was already in Anna's old seat and examining Holly's cheekbone. After a few moments of scrutinizing it, she met Holly's gaze.

"What really happened?" she asked worriedly. Holly saw the concern in her eyes and bit her lip. She didn't want Elsa to fly off the handle and go kill her just because she got bitch-slapped.

"Can we not talk about it?"

Elsa's expression changed to something mixed that Holly couldn't figure out. Holly stood from her chair and went to the parlour door. Looking back to see if Elsa was following, the taller girl stood and followed her outside. When they were both seated on the curb, Elsa scooted a bit closer. "Why don't you want to tell me?" she asked with a hint of panic in her voice.

_Shit, now she thinks it's her fault. Nice going genius, you better rectify it. _"I'm just worried you'll be really upset about it, and I don't want to make things worse," Holly said then bit her lip. _Great, you said it was worse, meaning it was bad before. You know what? You should just never socialize._

"Worse in what way?" Elsa asked and dropped her gaze to her hands.

With a shaky breath, Holly decided that coming clean was probably the best way to rectify the problem. "Promise you won't go killing anyone?"

Elsa's expression changed instantly to fiercely protective, "What went on? If I would want to kill some-who hit you?" Elsa asked growing more angry at the perpetrator that it began to affect her powers.

Feeling the cold radiate off of her, Holly tried to reach a hand out to her but was beginning to seize with panic. "It doesn't matter," she lied quickly.

"Yes it does, they need to answer for this!" Elsa replied as the weather began to shift around them.

Feeling the fear climb to every inch of her body, she shut her eyes and buried them into her knees, "Serena smacked me, I provoked her and I got what I deserved!"

Holly felt a shift in the atmosphere around her. It didn't make everything go away and bring back the blue skies, it changed into something sinister. She heard a low rumble that sounded like thunder. _That's impossible, she controls snow and ice not...thundersnow...but that's a rare occurrence, she must be very upset._ Realizing what this meant, Holly looked up to see that Elsa had already stood up and was walking toward the car. Feeling a surge of panic again, she shot after her and grabbed her hand.

"Elsa, please don't. It'll only make things worse!" she cried trying to convince her not to go and freeze Serena into a ice sculpture suitable for the wedding her parents were attending.

"She can't be allowed to get away with this!" she barked back and looked at the hand that Holly was holding. The smaller girl could tell that she was conflicted with letting go and tearing this girl apart or staying there with Holly.

Seeing this opportunity, Holly clasped her hand harder and inched closer to Elsa. "Please don't go. Stay with me, I need you," she pleaded. Her mind kept telling her how ridiculous sounding she was and how she wasn't worthy of Elsa but she didn't indulge in the snide comments. Keeping Elsa close to her was more important in order to keep her safe as well as having an emotional support.

Elsa must have seen this desperation and exhaled. She gently pulled Holly into her arms and held her there for a moment. Holly slowly leaned against her and rested her ear over the blonde's heart. The rhythmic beating relaxed her anxious mind enough fer her to enjoy the contact. Elsa placed a finger beneath her chin and brought Holly's gaze to meet her own. It took her a moment, but eventually, she seemed accept defeat.

"Alright, I won't go all vigilante on her. But I can't promise that if I ever see her again that I'm not going to give her a piece of my mind," Elsa stated and placed her hand over Holly's bruised cheek. The coolness felt relieving so Holly naturally rested it in her palm. Her compromise was an improvement, but Holly could tell that Elsa was going to brood about it. Plus, the thundering might have stopped but the storm was still there, threatening to dump all it held.

With a gentle nuzzle to her palm, Holly looked up and smiled gently, "don't worry, she didn't go unpunished for it."

Elsa furrowed her brow and turned her head. "No?" she asked. This thought process was also evident as the clouds above grew less menacing.

Holly laughed and smiled coyly, "Of course not, I don't sit still for abuse. I disciplined her with words. Plus, it helps to have a very protective new horse in the barn."

Elsa gave a small smile and shook her head. Holly kept her well-informed of Marshmallow so it came as no surprise that he lunged at her. "I like him, he sounds like my kind of horse."

"He actually does sound like your kind of horse," Holly replied with a smile, "if you ever had one."

"Well I got to know Olaf on a hugging basis. Who knows," she replied and stroked her cheek gently. Holly could see the worry and concern on Elsa's face and placed her good hand over Elsa's.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay," Holly said reassuringly. Although she knew that it wouldn't completely quell Elsa's anger at Serena or her concern for her, she knew it was enough to help ease her and begin to dissipate the storm. Retreating back to the blonde, she rested against her and wrapped her arms gently around her waist. She rested her head back on its previous perch but kept an eye on Elsa to make sure that she still wasn't pushing her. When she felt her relax and wrap her arms around her, Holly exhaled and closed her eyes in the safety of her embrace.

The sound of the parlour door opening was what brought their attention back and they both focused their gaze on Anna. The redhead cane out with three cones of all their favourite ice cream and watched the two of them along with the surroundings. When she passed the cones to Holly and Elsa, she leaned in towards the dirty blonde and whispered 'tell me later' before joining them in enjoying their treats.

As they sat and talked about the remainder of their summer plans, Holly remained close to Elsa as they sat down outside under the slowly clearing weather. Anna eventually noticed that her sister and her friend were cuddled quite close and decided she felt in a sentimental mood as well.

"It's been fun but I think I'm going to go to Kristoff's," she said standing up from the curb she had seated herself on.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Holly teased and waved as Anna began to walk the short distance form the ice cream parlour to Kristoff's place.

Now with just each other for company, Holly felt more comfortable with scooting herself to be right up against Elsa's side. Resting her head on Elsa's shoulder, she hummed happily and held the blonde close to her. The two of them were able to sit together quietly for a little while before Holly smiled and looked up at Elsa.

"You're cute when you're protective," she whispered and watched Elsa's reaction.

Seeing the surprise on the blonde's face, she chuckled as she watched Elsa's eyes widen and a blush stain her cheeks red. When she averted her eyes, Holly craned her neck to meet her gaze. Elsa nipped her bottom lip and pulled her shoulders up to her ears. _God, that's so adorable, it should be illegal._

"You think so?" Elsa asked with a hint of worry in her voice. The remnants of the storm from earlier were still around but Holly was enamored with Elsa's shyness. Although it was still there, Holly saw it for what it was and nuzzled the top of Elsa's head in reassurance.

"Yes I do," Holly responded.

The two looked at each other for what seemed like ages. Holly wasn't sure if Elsa felt compelled like she was. The urge to lean in for a kiss was tightening her as she gazed at the other girl. Worried though that she would push her too far, she didn't act on it and dropped her gaze to her feet. Resting gently against Elsa again, she felt the other girl embrace her a little bit tighter than she did before. Holly smiled and closed her eyes. _Maybe not right now, but definitely someday._


	16. Games

Once their ice cream was long-gone, the two just talked until Elsa noticed the sun beginning to set. She noticed Holly bite her lip and look up at the older girl. Seeing this, she mirrored her expression, also not wanting the date to end yet.

"You have to go home don't you?" she asked not wanting the obvious to be true.

Holly nodded slightly, "my parents would kill me if I took longer with the car then they wanted."

Elsa exhaled loudly in frustration. "You'd think they'd give a shit about their kid. You're their only one and you're a good person," she muttered before looking over at the dirty blonde. She watched her as she looked off in the distance with a pained expression. The fact that her parents were so willing to hurt her like this was appalling in her opinion. With a bit of hesitation, Elsa looked at her arm closest to Holly and commanded it to wrap around her, deciding her anxieties were way less important, "hey, I give a shit."

_Nice, 'you give a shit'? Way to be super supportive._

Holly looked up at her with shiny eyes. Initially, Elsa was concerned that she had upset her but before she could open her mouth to apologize, the smaller girl curled up against her, burying her face in her shirt and wrapping her arms around her. Feeling her warmth around her brought tingles to her skin and even shut the voices up in her head for a long moment.

"You have no idea how much it means to me that you do," Holly mumbled from Elsa's clothes. The blonde couldn't help but smile and tousled the top of her head gently. When Holly's voice reverberated in her ribcage, it made Elsa feel strange. Not just because of the vibrations, but there was a warm, binding sensation in her chest cavity. It was something she had never experienced with another person before, and even then it wasn't usually this strong with Holly.

_Oh god, is it death? A panic attack? _Elsa's mind began to go wild at the prospect of this new strong emotion. Feeling was something she wasn't used to. That age-old mantra rang out in her head to this day, years after she came to terms with her power: _Conceal, don't feel…_

_Is this love? Is this what love does to people?_

Elsa watched Holly as she sat motionless against her. She noticed the gentle rise-and-fall of her breathing was in complete opposite to her own. Every time Elsa exhaled, she inhaled and vice versa. It was like the two never separated, not even in contact space. It was in that moment that Elsa felt a severe attachment wash over her. She really didn't want Holly to go home, she wanted her to stay with her.

"Whatcha thinking of?" Elsa looked down to see that Holly had snuck a green eye open to look at her. She didn't notice before and wondered if Holly had been watching her the same way she had been watching. Considering the pinky quality of her cheeks, it was a good assumption that she was.

"I had an idea, but it's probably not a good idea since you'll probably have to work tomorrow."

"It's the civic holiday tomorrow, so I have the day off," Holly replied while watching her expectantly.

"I was thinking, what if instead of both of us being by our lonesome tonight…" Elsa trailed off losing confidence in her proposition. What if Holly got the wrong idea of what she was asking and got freaked out? When she had the courage to look back at the dirty blonde, she saw that her eyebrows were raised accompanied by quite the smirk.

"That we spend the night together?" she asked with a slightly teasing tone.

Elsa nodded slightly but soon found herself babbling to try and make sure Holly didn't get the wrong idea, "I mean it would just be like keeping each other company, nothing crazy or dirty, I promise."

Holly laughed which made Elsa feel more at-ease. She pulled herself out of the embrace to get a better look at Elsa and raised an eyebrow, "considering how chivalrous you've been, a roll in the hay wasn't something I'd expect you to ask so don't worry."

Feeling her cheeks flood with blood, she rested her face in her other palm and tried to hide her embarrassment from her girlfriend. Feeling a warm finger trace on the topside of her hand, she split her fingers apart to peek at the smaller girl. When she saw her smile, she dropped the hand from her face.

"Would you want to stay over at mine?" She eventually asked hoping Holly would be able to.

"Sure, just let me drop the car off and I'll come back with you," she replied with a cheeky smile before hopping up and trotting over to the old green sedan. It was a bit disheartening that they had to take two separate vehicles to Holly's house instead of sharing the front seats. _You'll live, it's only a few miles._

Soon they had dropped the car off and were heading back to Elsa's. On the way from Holly's to hers, Holly kept muttering about forgetting something. As she went through her checklist of everything she did and brought, Elsa couldn't help but smile at her vocalized thought process. _That's too cute for words._ Shortly after they got into the house, Holly had finally remembered what she had forgotten.

"Damn it! I forgot pajamas!" she cried and thumped her forehead with her palm.

Elsa gently smiled and pointed upstairs. "Hey I still have that shirt you bought at pride remember? You could use that. Plus, I'm sure I've got extra pants around," immediately, Elsa headed up the stairs to go search for some. Even though they wouldn't have to go to bed for hours, she wanted to make sure it was sorted out so that it didn't spoil anything or give her mind too many ideas.

While she was rooting through her drawers, she heard Holly lightly pad up the stairs and lean against her doorway. Eventually, Elsa managed to find a pair of capris pajama bottoms and pulled them out with Holly's shirt. She turned to look at the smaller girl to see that she was admiring her bookshelves.

"Wow, you've got quite the little library," she mused.

"Just some of my favourites," Elsa muttered shyly. All of a sudden, she was worried about Holly not having the same taste in books despite them having similar tastes so far.

"Practically everything Shakespeare, Molière, Voltaire, Sarah Walters, J. K. Rowling, Tolkien, Virginia Woolf…wow, that's impressive!"

"You think so?" Elsa asked softly. Truthfully, she did hold a sort of pride in her book collection. Those books were her companion as a child apart from when Anna would sit outside her bedroom door and talk to her.

"Sure I do…especially now!" Holly exclaimed as she ran over and pulled a larger book out from the bottom shelf. She dusted it off and held it up with pride and envy, "The guide to Pokémon Pearl and Sapphire! Do you have any idea how long I've been dying to get a hold of this?"

Elsa couldn't help but laugh. _She's also into Pokémon. She's definitely perfect. _"Well I defeated my game a while ago, you can borrow it if you're stuck."

"Trust me, I will once I have enough time to game again," Holly said as she slipped the book back into its spot on the shelf.

"Well since you're into gaming, I think you'd be interested to know that we have a PS3 downstairs," Elsa proposed with a coy smile. She couldn't help but chuckle when she saw Holly's face dawn an expression of awe, excitement and a hint of jealousy.

"Why are we still up here then?" Holly exclaimed and shot off toward the stairs, leaving Elsa back in her room, unknowing that her girlfriend's bedroom held majority of the games.

The two eventually picked a couple of games, ordered pizza and dined on their cuisine in their PJs as they slammed each other in Little Big Planet or any other two-player they could get their hands on. Eventually, Holly pulled off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

"You gonna live?" Elsa teased. She could tell that Holly had been enjoying herself since she was a very vocal gamer. _I don't think anyone, not even Kristoff, has yelled 'DIE!' as often or as viciously as she has. Her game rage is pretty cute._

"Ya, I think though that's about it for me. My eyeballs can't handle the gaming exposure they used to get," she laughed and placed her glasses on the coffee table that held their sodas and the empty pizza box.

"Not even for one more?" Elsa asked curiously and held up the last game from the pile she brought down. It was The Last Of Us: Left Behind, one that she had a bit of sentiment toward. When she saw Holly frown and pout though, she instantly feared that she did something wrong and set the game down, "don't worry, we don't have to."

"No we can, I'd love to but I just find that game so sad," Holly muttered looking a little embarrassed at the emotional involvement she had about the videogame.

Elsa understood and scooted closer toward Holly to let her know that she wasn't being ostracized on the other side of the couch. She set the game controller beside her glasses and turned her head to meet the dirty blonde's gaze.

"Hey, I understand. It is pretty sad."

"So you don't think I'm a sissy dweeb?" Holly inquired seriously. Elsa shook her head with the sincerest of smiles. _Sissy dweeb, nice. _

"The way you were killing things tonight, I would only see you as a force to be reckoned with," the platinum blonde replied. _Are you flirting? Or at least your version of flirting? Be careful Elsa, relationships always have a risk of ending badly, especially with you._

"Thank you," Holly replied gratefully and gently tapped her knee, "how about this, my eyes need a bit of a rest so you can play it and I'll just watch and rest with you?"

"Sounds good to me," Elsa mused and slipped the disc into the console. She flipped through the menus and reactivated her memory card file to pick up where she left off.

As she played, she was so involved with the game that she didn't notice Holly watching her more than the videogame. Over the course of the game's duration, their positions changed from sitting right beside each other to Elsa lounging across the sofa and Holly laying against her torso, head over her heart which was rapidly changing pace. She didn't realize it until she felt Holly's cheek muscles pull into a smile in response to her anxiety kick-starting her heart. No longer interested in the game, Elsa looked down at Holly who laid there with her eyes shut and with a relaxed smile. Feeling her light breathing ghost across her skin made Elsa's nerves twitch with delightful activity. She was so tempted to kiss her cheek, or maybe even her lips as she lay there in placid silence.

_Don't you dare, Elsa. You'll definitely lose control and scare her off for good. Plus, she's never initiated any kiss-provoking moments. _In that moment, her mind flashed back to earlier that day at the ice cream parlour. Holly looked at her with an intense longing that made her heart ache. It was almost as if she wanted something more than even air._ Touché, but it's still a bad idea._

Elsa's eyes flitted over Holly's face as she rested against her. Her freckles and sun spots littered her face in a way that was so uniquely fascinating, Elsa couldn't help but play connect-the-dots with her eyes. She gently raised a hand and after a moment's hesitation rested it gently against her cheek. The skin was still a few shades of yellow and purple from the bruise and she noticed a little wince cross Holly's face as the weight of her hand rested on it. A flame of anger erupted in the pit of Elsa's stomach at the sight of the abuse against her. She didn't initially notice that she was reacting until a light sound of content came from Holly and she saw the snow that she had deposited on her skin. Panicking, she pulled her hand quickly away. It must have roused Holly up enough to notice because the smaller girl blinked her eyes open and looked up at Elsa.

"What's wrong?" she asked groggily.

"I'm sorry," Elsa whispered and buried her head in her hands. She wanted to run away but the slight girl laying overtop of her was impeding her planned force of action.

"Why? It felt nice. It helps with the swelling too," Holly replied through a yawn before placing her hands on Elsa's, "you're not gonna hurt me. I know you won't."

"You have much more confidence in me than I do," Elsa replied from behind her fingers.

"Well, I love you."

Elsa sat there motionless for a few moments. _Did she say what I think she just said? _Her mind was whirring at a thousand miles an hour. She dropped her hands from her face after she felt Holly quickly extract hers from overtop. She opened her eyes when she felt the other girl shift away from her and wondered if Holly was regretting what she just said. She watched her sit there with her eyes glued to her feet and her bottom lip tucked under her front teeth roughly. Holly's response sparked anxiety in her that spread through the room as the temperature dropped and it lightly snowed. Elsa opened her mouth to speak but found no words coming out, the shock had left her speechless.

"Wow, I'm really sorry about that. Talk about freaking you out, no better way to scare you than blurting that I love you when you least expect it! God, I'm an idiot. Pretend I didn't say anything," Holly replied in a heavily self-deprecating tone as she lowered her head onto her knees, hiding her eyes from view.

_Wait, she's not regretting what she said, she's afraid of pushing you too far. She's been treading around you this entire time trying not to scare you off. Basically thinking that if she tried anything, that you would abandon her._

_Oh Holly…_

"You love me?" Elsa managed to squeak out after a few moments. When her little question didn't stir the smaller girl from her position, Elsa ignored her inner demons and slowly reached out placing a hand on the curvature of her spine, "do you?"

Holly moved to look up at her with cheeks stained with tears. Despite the trails of salt water, her eyes were wide with anxiousness and surprise. "I do, is that a bad thing?" she asked hoarsely.

"No, not at all. It's wonderful actually," Elsa replied with the same strained tone, not from fear or an awkward subject but from her mind being completely overloaded with everything Holly. Her brain still couldn't grasp that she had admitted to loving her. _Why on earth would she love you?_

_Because you care about her._

Acting truly on impulse, Elsa cupped Holly's face in her hands and planted a gentle kiss on the top of her forehead. The feeling of the girl's warm skin against her lips, growing warmer with a blush, made everything in Elsa's body feel alive. Her lips felt electrified and her entire body erupted in warmth. She wondered if Holly's flushed look was any indicator on how she appeared to the girl, because she felt completely moved. Even her criticizing mind had fallen silent, proving to have been no match for Holly's confident devotion.

"Why do you love me?" Elsa asked eventually once the smaller girl had opened her eyes again and watched her with that long, amorous look Elsa should have been used to receiving by now. Every time she looked at her like that, it still brought a sense of shyness to her, as if she didn't deserve it.

"Because you make me feel better when I'm upset, you're the first to kick anyone's butt who wants to hurt me and because you care. I know you're trying to control yourself around me but I know that it is _because_ you care. You've always put my needs first which is way more than anyone else has done, I want to do the same for you," Holly replied and began to fidget quietly. Elsa could see the thoughts building in the other girl's mind as they sat there in silence for a few more moments.

"Do you love me?" Holly eventually asked exposing every bit of courage she used and every vulnerability she had ever felt. The sentiment broke Elsa's heart that she could hurt and love so much despite all that had happened to her.

Elsa thought for a moment about her question. She recalled the little butterflies that danced in her stomach during their meeting in her bathroom and the riding lesson afterward, the fear that coursed through her body when she found out she was in the hospital and during the dinner, the relief when Holly called her back and told her that she cared, and finally, that binding warmth that surged through her now that was no longer contained to her chest cavity. _You didn't know what it was before, but now you do._

"I do love you," Elsa replied softly and looked up at Holly to gauge her response.

Seeing her smile and scoot closer toward her old post from earlier on that evening, Elsa returned the gesture and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close and resting her chin on Holly's shoulder. Holly's head rested against her neck and collarbone gently as she happily hummed with delight. The vibrations erupted that same warmth from before, except it no longer felt bound. It was free to surge through her.

"Thank you," Holly replied softly.

"No, thank you," Elsa responded and cradled her close as both of them relaxed back into the sofa and each other's embrace.


	17. Fear and Hostility

Holly awoke the next morning still on the sofa with Elsa lightly curled around her. At first, it took her a moment to recall the evening's events but when she did, she felt the tidal wave of different emotions rush back over her again.

That night had been one of the best in her life, despite that small moment where she was actually terrified and heartbroken thinking that she had finally ruined any chance she had being with Elsa. She tried not to mull over it because it hurt too great at the time for anyone to want to relive. The fact that Elsa loved her and even said she did, which was a lot for Elsa, was more than enough for her. She let her mind relive the last few moments of them just embracing each other before they fell asleep until she felt the taller girl stir beside her.

Holly shifted to get a better look at Elsa so she would be attentively waiting when she woke up. However, when she saw her face, she noticed that it was constricting along with her making little anxious sounds.

_She's having a nightmare, do something!_

"Elsa," Holly gently cooed to try and get her to wake up. When the nightmare's vividness began to show in Elsa's worsening expression, Holly began to gently jostle her, "Elsa, wake up. It's just a nightmare."

Initially, Elsa didn't wake. Holly kept persisting and growing more anxious herself the worse it became for her. After a few moments, Elsa sat up mid-scream and tore her eyes open. When they fixed on Holly, she watched her sit there for a moment rerunning the entire dream sequence in her mind. Acting on instinct, Holly grabbed her by the shoulders and brought her in for a hug, trying to stifle the girl's fears with affection.

"Don't worry, it was only a nightmare," Holly whispered as she felt Elsa press her forehead into her collarbone and hide there for a few moments. Eventually when she sat up again, Holly saw the fear still in her eyes but it was fear she had never seen before in her: pure, unaltered terror.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Holly asked gently trying to help ease the blonde back, "I find it prevents it from happening again."

She was slightly disappointed when she vehemently shook her head without a single sound. Her reserved demeanor worried Holly. Sure, she was quiet like this around people she didn't know but she knew her. Shit, she even professed her love to her last night. Unsure of what else to say, she leaned close to her and tucked a stray platinum blonde lock behind her ear, "You know I'm here if you need anything, right?"

Elsa looked up at her and nodded. Her gaze still held the terror from the nightmare, but it also held something else: appreciation and admiration. Elsa moved back closer to her and rested against the smaller girl, "I'm grateful that you are. I was initially worried that you'd see me like this but I'm glad I didn't wake up alone."

Holly felt a blush creep into her cheeks, both at being there for her and remembering that they did indeed fall asleep together. Sure, she fell asleep with other people before but none of them were Elsa. "I'm glad I didn't either," she managed to mutter out.

Elsa looked at her with a coy smile that only made the dirty blonde's pink skin a deep shade of scarlet. With a small laugh, the blonde sat up a little. "So what do you want to do today? The day is yours," Elsa proposed, obviously trying to further lighten the mood.

Holly thought about it a bit and looked at her, "what would you want to do?"

Elsa blinked for a moment and shrugged with an uncharacteristic moment's indecision, "I'm not sure."

Holly rested her cheek on her hand for a moment but gently moved it when she felt a dull ache from the bruise. Remembering that her run-in with Serena had made her cut her time with Marshmallow short due to the mental ramifications, she wondered if maybe finally introducing him to Elsa was a good idea.

"Remember how we discussed yesterday if Marsh would be your kind of horse?"

Elsa gently rolled her eyes and smiled a little, "yes I do. I have to keep reminding myself that if I'm going to date you that the barn's a regular thing."

Holly blushed deeper and felt embarrassed for making Elsa feel like she was dragging her along, "We don't have to go. I can go another day."

Elsa tapped her gently on the nose and smiled, "I'm just teasing you, I don't mind. If you want to go, we can. Just please, remember I'm still novice at all this so nothing crazy."

"Nothing crazy, check," Holly replied with a little salute and a giggle. She liked that she was able to laugh and joke with her just like she could with Anna and Kristoff. It took a lot for anyone to gain that status with Holly, and she was glad that Elsa had made it.

/-/

"Okay, now when you see him, don't make direct eye contact, just in case he feels threatened. You can interact with Olaf just like before, but leave Marshmallow to me," Holly prompted.

"Okay," Elsa replied quietly. Holly could practically see the nervousness radiating off of her and wondered if this was a good idea. Elsa wasn't the most confident with any animal, never mind one as mistrusting as Marshmallow.

"It'll be just fine, just act passive and he won't get nervous around you, and act confident. Passive but confident. Horses can smell fear, makes them scared. He's not going to do anything, I just want to make sure that he's going to tolerate you," Holly rambled as they made their way over to the pasture. She whistled to Olaf who immediately came over and began searching them both for treats. Slowly, Marshmallow followed, keeping an eye on the newcomer.

"Elsa, Marshmallow. Marshmallow, Elsa," she introduced to the two of them. Initially, she expected him to be hostile, but he wasn't. In fact, he had a reserved curiosity about him. The pair looked at each other for a moment before Marshmallow decided to take a few steps over in Elsa's direction, leaving Holly to just stare.

"What?" Elsa asked when the Fjord stopped a little ways away from her and she felt comfortable enough to tear her eyes away from him.

"It took me weeks to get him to even acknowledge me. But you, he's interested with you already," Holly replied with a sense of both awe and disbelief. Although the horse clearly still mistrusted the blonde, he was beyond tolerant which was more than where Holly stood with him.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, this is great progress!" Holly exclaimed gently so not to spook Olaf or Marshmallow. Although he preferred Elsa, Holly still didn't trust him enough to completely entrust her girlfriend with him. After securing Olaf, she clicked a lead line onto Marshmallow's halter and held Olaf's lead out to Elsa, "Would you want to try leading a horse?"

"Could I try it with Marshmallow?" she asked, looking the grey Fjord over curiously.

Holly grew hesitant and looked over at him. He was looking in her direction but when he noticed her looking at him, he took a haughty stance and snorted at her. With a quick wave of her fingers in an 'I'm watching you' gesture, she passed the line off to Elsa, "give him some slack but not enough to get distracted. Remember your confidence."

Elsa nodded and followed behind Holly as they led the pair over toward the barn. When they were in and secured in cross ties, Holly walked over toward the two and saw Marshmallow was dawning a smug expression for a horse.

"I think he's trying to get my goat," the smaller girl denounced once she reached the pair. Elsa gave a small laugh and patted his neck.

"He's being a good boy," the blonde suggested.

"Hah, you don't know him. He can be an opportunistic little shit-" The rest of her sentence was cut off by an indignant squeal from the Fjord himself.

**"I am not."**

Holly turned around to see that Kristoff was walking over towards them with Anna in tow. "Fancy seeing you here," the boy greeted.

"Fancy that," Holly replied and looked between the two of them. Anna's braids were fuzzy and both of them had dark circles under their eyes, "looks like someone didn't get much sleep."

"Lord of the Rings marathon," Anna yawned and plopped her head on Kristoff's shoulder.

"Uh huh, sounds eventful," Elsa replied and eyed the two of them, as if to make sure that it was only the Lord of the Rings that kept them up.

"Anyways, we're going on the cross-country course. Care to join us Holly? Elsa can watch your mad falling skills," Kristoff teased but noticed that it hit a sore spot more so with Elsa than it did with Holly.

Seeing Elsa's protective side making an appearance in her subtle demeanor, Holly decided they should probably stay separated today, "Thanks but no thanks, I want to wait until the cast is off before I attempt that again. Besides, I want Elsa to enjoy herself as well."

"Suit yourself, meet you back here?" Kristoff asked as he and Anna walked past the pair to go get their own horses.

"Alright, see you later," Holly replied and looked over at Elsa who seemed to be slightly stewing, "he's just teasing, don't worry about it."

"Still," she grumbled and eyed the cast on her girlfriend's forearm that had clearly taken some abuse over the past while. Even though it had been through a lot being attached to Holly, the smaller girl always made sure that her snowflakes were well taken care of. Holly felt this pride swell up a bit as she saw Elsa eye them with an approving smile.

"C'mon, let's get you ready," she replied and began teaching her how to groom. Due to his sensitivity with grooming, Holly managed to persuade Elsa into practicing on Olaf while she set Marshmallow up for her. When they were both ready, Holly led them out to the empty indoor arena to get Elsa used to being on a horse. She initially tried to convince trying it out on Olaf first but the blonde did seem a little taken with the grey. Plus, he was clearly on a mission to prove that he could be good with people, so Holly caved.

Soon, Elsa was up and walking around the ring. She caught onto the basics quite quickly and thankfully Marshmallow was a patient teacher. The grey Fjord plodded along happily as Holly led her through walking courses and poles. After about an hour of that, Holly walked over to the gate at the end of the arena and dismounted to open it.

"Want to take this outside? We could just go for a nice hack around the property."

Elsa gave a slightly hesitant nod, "Okay."

With a clatter of the chain, she swung the gate open and shut it again once everyone was through. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just stay confident," she encouraged as she remounted and walked off beside Elsa.

/-/

"How do you do put up with this!? Don't laugh at me."

Holly stifled a giggle as she watched Elsa try to walk after dismounting from Marshmallow's back. They had been in the saddle for a couple of hours so it was no wonder the poor girl was bowlegged.

"I think it's cute," Holly replied cheekily and dismounted herself though without the bowleggedness.

"It must go away with time obviously," Elsa muttered as she saw Holly walk over to her as if she had been seated on a sofa rather than across a horse's back, "I have a feeling I won't be able to walk tomorrow."

"Probably not, I'm sorry," Holly giggled and entwined an arm with Elsa's.

"You should be," the blonde teasingly scolded. They both managed to make it into the barn and get both geldings into their stalls eventually, and to make up for her unfortunate bowlegged circumstance, Holly took over the aftercare for both horses.

"Did you have fun?"

"Ya, I'd say so," Elsa said while subconsciously rubbing her thigh. She sat on a bale of hay next to Marshmallow's stall and simply watched him as he tried to eat her seat out from under her. This really surprised her that he wasn't trying to get Elsa away from his food source. Then again, the girl wasn't trying to stop him.

"I'm really surprised at his behavior. He seems to quite like you."

"Or maybe he's afraid of me," Elsa replied a bit darkly.

"Why on earth would he be afraid of _you_?" a voice replied from down the corridor. Holly groaned lightly and shut her eyes. _Of all the days, it had to be today._

"Pay her no mind, Hans. Pay neither any mind."

_Thing 1 also brought Thing 2. Great._

"I agree, you should both piss off."

Holly looked up to see that the retort had come from Elsa. She had seen them both, and she was not impressed.

"Excuse me, but I pay money so maybe you should be the one to 'piss off'," Hans sneered to her.

"Correction, your _parents_ pay money. Don't flatter yourself dear," Elsa snapped in return. Holly was quite surprised by the blonde's behavior. Mainly because she had never seen her get so hostile with someone before.

"I didn't know you hired a guard dog, Holly," Serena joined in, "afraid you'll get schooled again?"

Before Holly could even react, Elsa had clearly snapped. She flew over to the both of them and pointed a disguised deadly finger in their faces, "I'm warning you, you'll pay."

"Oh no, I'm _terrified_," Serena challenged and chuckled with Hans for a moment.

"Elsa, don't," Holly pleaded as fear crept into her system. She could see the rage blazing in the alabaster girl's body as it slowly took her over.

It was in that moment that Holly realized just how real Elsa's power really was. Seeing her volatile nature and her pent up with anger on the verge of exploding out, she realized that she had underestimated the girl. She was certain in thinking that she would never resort to anything considered bad or evil. _Holly how stupid are you, she's human. Every human has the capacity to do good or evil. What made you think Elsa was different?_

_Because Elsa was different with you._

It wasn't likely that Elsa would ever be like this with her but now her anxious mind was calling her on her insecurities. She was so busy drowning in in her own anxiety, that it took the screams of Serena and Hans to bring her back to reality again.

When Holly looked at the two, part of Serena's arm was covered in frostbite and there was a cut near Hans' eye that had begun to bleed. Holly looked past the auburn boy to see a thin but deadly-looking icicle was lodged in between the wood panels on a stall door a little ways down. When looking at the trajectory of its possible flight path, she knew that Elsa was intending to maim.

"What the _hell_!?" Hans cursed and wiped the blood that had ran down his face. He locked eyes with Elsa who had moved to stand closer to Holly.

"I told you to piss off!" Elsa growled ferociously.

"Hans-"

"Elsa-"

Holly froze as either girl tried to reason with their enraged significant other. Holly seemed to have more luck as Elsa walked over to join her but still refused to back down. After a long stare-down between the two, Holly watched the expressions change. Elsa's grew more determined the longer he stared, and Hans' grew more and more fearful and full of hate.

"You'll pay for this," he threatened.

"Who's going to believe you, hm?" Elsa threatened, "Ice in mid-summer. And if you so much as _dare_ to make a repeat performance or go anywhere near Holly again, you'll get far worse than that. Both of you," she said and settled her eyes on Serena as well who dropped her gaze in fear.

"This won't be the last you've seen of me, Ice Queen. And after this and previous displays, it's you they'll turn on," Hans spat and spun out of the barn, dragging Serena along with him.

Once they were out of the barn, Elsa's rage dissipated enough for her to become cognitively aware of what just happened. Holly wanted to console the blonde but felt herself paralyzed by fear. She looked around to see that the barn was absolutely freezing inside. Snow hung in the air, mild ice had formed around wherever Elsa had stood and everyone's breath could be seen. Holly felt a shift in the environment when Elsa realized what she had done.

"I effectively signed my own death notice," Elsa murmured quietly as her large blue eyes took in the entire scene that she had just created, "he knows. I'm done for."

"Holy Shit, it's freezing in here!" Anna cried out as she and Kristoff entered the barn with their horses' tack, "what happened?"

Holly looked at her friend with a dumbfounded expression as she stood there frozen and speechless. The realization of what just happened let her anxiety-riddled mind have a free-for-all as she stood there enveloped in everything her mind threw at her. She didn't know that Elsa had turned to watch her until she looked up and saw the taller girl's face was laced with guilt and shame, and that same degree of terror that hunted her only this morning.

"We're going home," Elsa stated to Anna.

"But-"

"Now, Anna," she said with a hint of remorse but Holly could sense the fear. She ran out of the barn and out to the silver hatchback that sat in the parking lot, leaving Anna to try and keep up with her and a stunned Holly and Kristoff.

Holly said nothing as Elsa tore out of the parking lot and down the regional road back toward the city. She felt so afraid and so helpless that she couldn't have even reminded Elsa that she had no other way to get home.

"What happened?" Kristoff managed to ask eventually.

Holly turned to look at Kristoff who was watching her worriedly. "I don't even know," she choked and stuffed her face in her hands before she burst into tears. She felt a large pair of arms wrap around her and hug her to him.

"It'll be okay, Holly. Everything makes its way."

Holly nodded slightly and wiped her eyes between sobs. "I don't even have a ride home now."

"I'll take you home, that's no big deal. I'm your best friend, I'm always going to be around. Remember bros before hoes, right?"

"Right," Holly replied even though she didn't like the 'hoes' being her best friends.

"C'mere," Kristoff said and held her while she broke into hysterics in his arms. She was grateful to have such a good friend, even if he did smell funny. Especially since he would also be willing to be a handkerchief. She took the embrace but it wasn't who she really wanted.


	18. Bad Things Always Happen in 3's

She ended up getting a ride home from Kristoff later on that day after she had calmed down and been able to think everything through. She ended up scraping the ice off the floor and opening the barn windows to allow the sun in to try and heat it up again. Olaf and Marshmallow complained about the lingering cold so she led them both out to spend the night in the pasture. It wasn't optimal but she didn't want any horse to stay in there that didn't have to.

She got home to her parents and could see that they were beyond dealing with her. She could tell that they weren't amused but also that they could really care less. The first couple of weeks in August were spent pretty much on her lonesome, her parents were busy with their lives and all her friends seemed to drop off the face of the earth. She texted Anna and Kristoff every so often to make sure that they were alive. Only Kristoff ever answered her and he always gave short replies. She texted and called Elsa much more often, but never got an answer from the blonde.

Being isolated like this was starting to take its toll on Holly. Having no one to talk to and to be constantly reminded that she was alone in this world was daunting and could easily drag her down. Her only companions proved to be Olaf, Marshmallow when he wasn't cantankerous, and Pablo whose age was very much showing. She was glad that she didn't have allergies because the amount of time she spent burying her face in an animal's fur for that period of time would have probably killed her.

It was now officially the Dog Days of Summer which meant sweltering heat as summer hit its climax before giving into autumn. She had still not heard from anyone, especially not Elsa. It even got to the point that when her final appointment came about her arm, she didn't know how to feel about losing her cast. As the blade of the saw cut through her snowflakes, she blinked back tears of loss. A loss that resonated on so many levels for her.

The few days after the removal of her cast was filled with work, barn work and physiotherapy but through all of it, she was just existing. She found her mind often drawing comparisons between her present life and her grieving period after everything hit the fan with Theresa. She didn't want to think about it nor make that comparison but the isolation was the main motif that bound the two. She was still battling these mental demons when she had to pick Regina up from the airport.

Her cousin was her usual happy self, which couldn't be more painful for her. When she asked about Elsa, Holly couldn't even try to hide her emotions. Regina immediately knew that she had hit a nerve and said nothing more about it. She left her cousin alone for a while until Holly was driven to the edge.

It was the next morning and both of her parents had left for work. Holly grabbed breakfast and brought it up to her room. Pablo had permanently moved down to her bedroom and was stationed on her bed like he had been for the past few weeks. When she reached her room, she noticed that he didn't look himself.

"Pablo? You ok? I brought you your own milk saucer," she cooed but the pitiful look on the sandy cat's face made her worried, "Pabby?"

"Mow," Pablo mewled with a very raspy voice. She rubbed the nape of his neck as he began to cough up a hairball, however when blood came out instead of hair, she immediately panicked.

"Regina!" she screamed and wrapped her cat in a blanket. She picked him up and ran out the door, meeting her cousin at the top of the stairs. When the brunette set her eyes on the dying cat, she immediately knew.

"How are we going to get him to the vet? Your mom took the car to work!"

"I don't know," she muttered as her brain kicked in to work. She instantly thought of everyone she could call with a car to try and drive her to the veterinarian but by the time she had returned to start the phone calls, she could tell it was too late for medical intervention. "Forget the vet, let's just make him comfortable."

Regina's face grew somber but she nodded and let her cousin lead the way out to the backyard. Holly set Pablo down beneath the tree and unwrapped the blanket so he could relax across it.

"He was a partial outside cat when he was younger. I used to watch him hunt grasshoppers and beetles in the lawn," she mused thinking of the cat in his prime, "I say partial because he would go out only for short intervals and preferred to stay inside."

Holly watched Pablo interact with his world while Regina sat beside her in awkward silence. Holly petted him as his old days seemed to replay in his mind before he finally relaxed and left the world. When the cat grew limp, she wrapped him up again and silently went to get a shovel from the shed. When she came back, she saw her cousin looking at the blanket mound before turning to her.

"In all the years I've known Pablo, he hated me. I just thought he was the world's grumpiest cat. But seeing this, and seeing how he's been with you, I understand how hard it must be for you," Regina stated and reached out a hand for the shovel.

"Thank you," she said lifelessly but bypassed her cousin and began to dig a hole towards the back of the yard.

"Holly, what's gone on? You were so happy only weeks ago! Did something happen with you and Elsa?"

Holly stiffened. _Bull's-eye, you don't play around do you? _She began to dig a little more reverently which got a hum of affirmation from her cousin. She didn't fight it when Regina came up and took the shovel from her and gestured for her to sit down.

"Ok, so what's gone on between you two? I'm sure it's reparable, right?" she asked through huffs as she dug the dirt up. Holly wordlessly sat for a few moments before mustering up any courage to say anything.

"We ran into some people who gave me a hard time in the past and her protectiveness took things too far."

"How so?"

"Just so," Holly snipped, not wanting to delve into the real reason she thought the girl fled.

"Holly, did she kill or maim somebody or something?"

"No, can we just stop talking about this?! My cat just died in front of me for god's sake!" She yelled in an exasperated tone before standing up again and walking toward the house. Her original hopes were just to avoid everyone, but that was quickly dashed when her mother pulled in the driveway.

"What's gone on?" her mother interrogated, clearly not liking the look she saw on her daughter's face.

"Pablo's dead," Holly stated roughly and turned to walk past her mother, who sidestepped in front of her.

"So you dug up my yard for his personal cemetery?" she chastised.

"Oh! My apologies, I should have just thrown him in the bloody compost!" She exploded and surged past her mother. She didn't care that she ended up jostling the other woman out of the way and ignored her screaming as she flew into the house and up to her room.

/-/

She hadn't moved from her spot in days. She had now shut out the rest of her known world because she was just so sick of everyone else on top of everything she was feeling. Her parents tried to scold her, Regina tried to console her but nothing worked. She still mindlessly looked at her pictures, especially the ones of Pablo, as she slowly ate away her food stash she had built for days like this. After two days, Regina barged into her room and looked between her and the state of her bedroom.

"I figured that you had food in here, otherwise you would've been dead by now."

"Not really," Holly huffed and rested back onto her bed, turning away from her cousin. In truth, it didn't seem like a bad option at the present moment, but this was an issue she always had trouble gripping so it wasn't something she wasn't used to feeling.

"Holly, you have commitments. Aren't you working?"

"I reassigned my shifts."

"And the physio?"

"I cancelled the appointments. It's stupid anyway, my wrist muscles aren't that atrophied."

"Please, Holly. I'm worried about you," Regina said while sitting beside her.

"Why?" the smaller girl replied lifelessly.

"Because you're my cousin. You're practically my sister."

"I wish I was, I think your parents would have been okay with me being a lesbian."

"Ya, they would have. I know, I can speak from experience."

That statement made Holly curious and she rolled over to look at Regina expectantly, "what do you mean?"

"Robbie finally got the courage up to tell Mom and Dad that he's transgender. And they just said they loved him and that it didn't matter who he loved or which gender he was as long as he was happy," Regina replied thinking of her youngest brother. He was only fourteen which was quite courageous in Holly's opinion.

"Really? Tell her I'm proud of her next time you two speak and to let me know the name she picks," she answered feeling a little enlightened that her younger cousin found some solace. She always seemed troubled or timid and hoped that this would help her feel more at-ease with herself.

"I will, and hey Mom and Dad were with me when I saw the photo of you and Elsa. They just told me to tell you that they were happy for you."

Holly swallowed and shut her eyes as she nodded in response. The picture was still hanging on her corkboard right beside the pictures she had of Pablo. Over the past few days, it was hard for her to look at the photos of her cat and not look at the one she had with Elsa. Feeling the pressure Regina exerted on her mattress disappear, she looked up to see that her cousin had moved to go get a better look at it.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but it just doesn't make sense to me how upset you are unless you two broke up," Regina answered and looked to her cousin for the answer. When Holly didn't say or do anything, she tugged the photo off and brought it back with her, "is it over?"

Holly didn't look at Regina or the photo. She didn't want to focus on the finality of it all but knew she had to at some point, "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? It's kind of one of those things that someone's pretty certain about."

"It's only certain if you actually call it off," Holly retorted gently.

"Have you not heard from her since whatever happened, happened?"

"No, I haven't," Holly eventually replied while holding back her emotions, "I don't know whether or not to be worried or upset."

"She'll come around eventually, just give it time," Regina said trying to be supportive.

"It's been nearly three weeks, how much longer will this take?" Holly exasperated and finally broke into tears. She felt her cousin hug her and gently leaned against her, more so for a change in position that for comfort.

"I wish I could sort this out for you. I'd love to give her a piece of my mind for hurting you like this!" the younger seethed while she held Holly in her arms.

"She's usually the one giving the pieces of mind," Holly mumbled which made Regina laugh a bit.

"She's usually good to you?"

"Always, she just has this bad habit of running away when she gets scared."

Regina sat her up and passed a tissue pack from her pocket. Holly often forgot the poor girl was allergic to ragweed so being down in Arendelle at this time of year was probably wreaking havoc on her if she wasn't plugged with allergy medication. Despite this fact, her cousin seemed quite clear-headed as she sat in front of her.

"Do you love her?"

"I do."

"Then that's all that matters," Regina replied and looked back toward the corkboard. When Holly saw her cousin's face grow pale, she turned to see that her door was open slightly and her own mother was standing partially in the doorway.

"So it's true then, you're a raging lesbian?"

"Mother-"

"_Don't mother me!_ How dare you call me your mother after this! I didn't raise a dyke!" her mother raged as she flew into the bedroom and stood in a belittling stance to glare at her daughter.

"What's going on up here?" her father asked as he quickly stormed in after his wife.

"Holly's come out of the closet," her mother sneered and looked over toward Regina, "How long have you known?"

"Only since I got here," Regina lied smoothly. Holly didn't blame her, her parents were absolutely terrifying when one was under fire. Her panic seemed to grow as her father's eyes locked onto the photo Regina was holding.

"Give me that!" he roared as he snagged the photo from her hands and looked at it, then to his daughter, "so you've been whoring yourself out to women now?"

"No," Holly barked in reply.

"Then what do you call this?" he growled as he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up.

"I don't call it _whoring_," Holly snapped while trying to hide her wincing.

"You make me sick!" he spat and tossed the photo at her and shoved her away from him, "get out."

"You're going to toss out your only offspring? Keep in mind, you can't track me anymore once you do!" Holly retorted.

"_Get out_!" William screamed and turned to look at Regina, "We'll house you until you move into residence, but if you're going to subscribe to being a gay sympathizer, don't bother dealing with us!"

"Yes uncle," she replied submissively and hurried out of the room.

Now with her gone, holly was their sole focus of attention. She could see the disgust and ignorance in their eyes and features as they tried to make themselves appear more dominant. In that moment, Holly had unsubscribed from the family, no longer seeing them as Mom and Dad but Maude and William. And that's how they would forever be known.

"You have fifteen minutes before I call the cops," William stated before escorting Maude out of her bedroom. She didn't even try to have the decency to wait until they left to start packing. She managed to pack a necessary amount and variety of clothes and carried a few luxury items including her photos. She took the spare car key out of her drawer in case it could be handy and marched out the front door without so much as a 'kiss my ass' or a 'hope you die lonely'.

It took a few paces down the street for Holly to realize that she was completely alone and didn't even have a place to crash. She pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and looked at the contents of her contact list. Unsure of who else to call, she dialed that same old number.

"Hey what's up?" Kristoff answered.

"I'm officially homeless."

There was a pause on the end of the line before he started cursing angrily. "Seriously!? They found out and booted you!? Gimme 20, I'll be there."

"I'll meet you halfway, if I hang around they'll have me charged for loitering."

She could hear his engine kicking to life on the other end of the phone as he replied, "okay I'll keep a lookout for you."

After the two hung up, it didn't take them long to meet. She waved when Kristoff's truck came into view and quickly climbed into the cab after tossing her small amount of stuff in the back.

"Tell me everything," he said as he pumped the gas to get going again.

"Before I do, I just want you to know that I don't want to hold you up by staying with you."

"Relax, my parents were disgusted at the fact that your parents kicked you out. Plus, you know they like you."

Holly thought of Kristoff's adopted family for a moment before realizing the burly guy had a point. With that resolved, she told him everything since the freeze at the stables. By the time they pulled into his driveway, she had finished and he was shaking his head.

"I don't understand it. I just don't."

"Me neither."

"I'm sorry Holly. I'm also sorry I've been neglecting you, I've been so busy lately."

"That's okay."

"Hey, remember the room you used to get when we had sleepovers as kids? It's still unclaimed if you want it, even just temporarily."

Holly thought of the bedroom and smiled at the memories of it, "first things first, can I just think everything through?"

"Of course, come on in," Kristoff said and flung the door open, "hey guys! Look who I brought!"

If Holly had known that Kristoff's family was having one of their huge dinners, she probably wouldn't have called to interrupt. Walking in, all she saw was a mass of eyes at first before she was able to distinguish his aunts, uncles, cousins and other miscellaneous relatives apart.

"That's the girl he used to crush on!" one of his adopted little brothers called out from his seat in the living room.

"Did not!" Kristoff said a little embarrassingly but Holly just chuckled it off. She always knew about it, but it was when they were seven so it wasn't a major deal-breaker.

"He's brought another girl?" an aunt turned to her husband and asked.

"Another girl?" Holly asked Kristoff inquisitively. Before the blonde could respond, Anna emerged from the kitchen and placed her plate on the table.

"Holly, what's going on?" she asked as she approached.

"I was worried you dropped off the face of the earth," Holly stated at the exact same time. Usually they would have jinxed each other and laughed it off but the air of seriousness prevented that.

"Why did Kristoff rush to pick you up?"

"My parents kicked me out," she said quietly so not to air her dirty laundry to all of Kristoff's family. She saw the realization dawn on Anna's face as she put it together and hugged her friend.

"I am so sorry," Anna said before pulling away.

"It's alright but what happened to you and Elsa? I haven't heard from either of you in weeks."

"Elsa hasn't spoken to you?" Anna said a bit panicky.

"No, what's gone on?" Holly answered also growing agitated.

Anna bit her lip and tears swam in her eyes. Holly went to console her but she just moved away, "our parents died on the way to the wedding. Shipwreck."

Holly had no idea and now she was wondering if any of that day's events had anything to do with Elsa's reaction in combination with that. "Anna, I am so sorry. I would've been of help if I had known."

"I know, I should have told you except that there was so much to do and so many family members that I was completely overwhelmed."

"You didn't have help?"

The redhead shook her head, "outside family can only be so helpful and Elsa didn't take this well at all."

"How so?"

"She locked herself away upon hearing the news and didn't interact with anyone. I figure it was because no one really knows about her and she wasn't in control in any way. I would have thought that she would have said something, even a text to you."

Holly shook her head and dropped her gaze to her newly naked arm. It was weird to look and no longer see the snowflakes, even if they were a heavy reminder to her. "She hasn't emerged since?"

"No, it's practically reverted to when we were kids. Me standing and talking to her outside her door and getting no response. Could you come back with me? You're one of the few people now who knows and maybe she'll respond to you. She loves you after all."

"Lead on," Holly answered without missing a beat and helped Anna pack up some food for Elsa and squeezed into Kristoff's truck to head over.

Once they arrived, the two girls headed upstairs and stood out front of the bedroom door. A cold draft was leaking out the bottom of the door, characteristically Elsa.

"Elsa? I brought dinner, please at least open up to eat," Anna pleaded, "I also found a hobo that you'd love to see."

Holly smiled weakly at the new nickname and sidled close to the door, "Elsa? Please tell me you're alright."

When there was no answer, Anna placed the food on the floor and took a few steps away. Holly wasn't so easily stirred and placed her hand on the door. Bringing it down to the doorknob, she noticed it wasn't locked.

"Elsa's door locks doesn't it?"

Anna nodded and looked at her quizzically. Holly placed her hand on the knob and turned it. Nothing stopped her so she gently opened the door to Elsa's room and peeked inside. When she saw stilled snowflakes but no Elsa, she panicked.

"Your sister's gone!" she exclaimed and threw the door open for Anna to see, "she must have left while you were out."

"Wherever she is, she hasn't gotten far, the snow's still fresh," Anna replied and surveyed the girl's frozen bedroom.

"Where could she have gotten to?" Holly asked and joined the redhead.

"I have an idea, come on," Anna answered and grabbed Holly's hand as they surged out and down the stairs.


	19. Natural Pursuit

**A/N: Hi everyone, sorry this chapter took so long, it was the end of the semester and my personal life got in the way. Especially with that killer cliff-hanger, I promise I won't do that to you guys again. Enjoy!**

* * *

Poor Kristoff must have been stunned with how the girls were practically running a thousand miles per hour around him. Before he could rebuke, the two had piled him into the truck and were yelling at him to start the ignition already. As he turned the key, only a clicking sound emanated from the engine.

"Are you kidding me!?" Kristoff yelled and smacked the steering wheel, "how could the battery possibly be dead?"

Holly looked ahead to the garage door, which gave her two ideas. "Hey, why do you have your lights on?"

"I don't…oh shit! I left them on all fricking night and day!" He wailed and thumped his head on the horn, "I just paid it off! Now I've gotta buy a new battery!"

"Never mind that, I have an idea," Holly muttered and pulled Anna out of the car with her, leaving Kristoff to glare at her through the windshield. She pulled Anna all the way to the garage door and waited for Anna to catch on. When she didn't, she sighed, "Isn't your parents' car still in the garage?"

Anna bit her lip and nodded, "It is, but it's a standard."

Holly groaned and immediately fished the spare key of the sedan out of her pocket. It would be considered theft, but it was very tempting. Plus, her house was a bit of a ways away, a good enough walk, then they would have to try to sneak an old loud car out of the driveway without Maude and William noticing. After some debate, she cursed her birth givers and tossed the key away.

"Open the door, we're either jumping Kristoff or bunny-hopping the whole way there."

Anna opened the door hesitantly and followed behind Holly to the car. When they reached the driver side, Holly popped the hood open and waited for Kristoff to come with a pair of jumper cables. When the car was hooked up, Holly climbed into the driver's side and started the car. It took a few tries, but eventually they got the battery working.

"Where is it we have to go?" Kristoff asked while frantically waiving them to jump in before the battery tried to die again.

"I'll direct you, it's to an old hiking trail in the foothills off of the regional highway. It's around an hour from here."

"Call the tow truck wherever this beast stops, be it there or on the way," Holly suggested as Kristoff pumped the gas and hauled his truck out of Anna's survey.

/-/

The truck's battery finally gave out around a half-mile away from the parking lot for the hiking trail. Hauling her at full speed, Anna surged forward yelling instructions to Kristoff on where to find them once he was done calling the tow truck. It was in that short spurt to the parking lot that Holly realized how out of shape she really was. _You would think after how much time spent lugging hay bales and hours on horseback that you'd be somewhat competent at a short sprint_.

Anna eventually skidded to a stop when she saw the hatchback parked underneath a pine tree. Holly had to wonder for a moment why the redhead was staring at the car since she wasn't checking what was inside.

"She must be upset, she hates pine sap mess yet she parked under a huge pine tree, and now her car is covered," Anna noted quietly while observing the congealed droplets on the hood of the car.

"Nothing soap and water can't cure," Holly replied while trying to draw Anna away from the car and back to the present moment, "let's find her."

"Ya, follow me," Anna said and shot off ahead of her. With a groan and sigh, Holly lumbered after her as best she could. She managed to keep the redhead in sight for a little while but soon was just left to follow her footprints in the mud. _Wait, why is there so much mud? It hasn't rained in weeks…and why is the mud only on parts of this path?_

A thud and yell from further ahead snapped her back from her thoughts and Holly had soon caught up to Anna. She was sprawled out in the mud. If Holly had been going faster, she wouldn't have seen it and also been victim to the culprit: a raised tree root.

"Damn!" Anna cursed and sat up grabbing her ankle.

"How bad is it?" Holly asked kneeling down beside her.

"A good twist if not a sprain," Anna replied through gritted teeth and wiped the mud off her brow, "hurt and dirty, great."

"Shit, can you bear weight?" Holly asked now beginning to panic.

"I can try, help me up," Anna said while struggling to get to her feet. When she was upright, any weight on her ankle made her yelp and require relying on Holly for stability, "it will take us forever to find her with me like this. You'd be better going on ahead."

"Anna, I don't know the way. I can't find her without you."

"Yes, you can. Just follow this trail, take the next right fork, cross the log bridge and you'll climb up to a grassy plateau. We always used to have picnics there when we were kids," Anna winced and eased herself down to sit on the root that caused this dilemma.

"I'm not leaving you by yourself out here," Holly replied looking around the wooded area they were in.

"Anna? Holly?" The voice was distant but it was recognizable enough.

"Kristoff! Over here!"

Soon, the blonde bumbled into view heaving and gasping for air. He said something through breaths but it was too airy for the girls to understand. It wasn't until he managed to point at Anna's outstretched leg that anyone understood what he was asking.

"Oh, I tripped on this root and twisted my ankle," Anna replied while patting a flat stone close to her for him to sit on.

"Oh ok, the tow truck will be there in an hour," Kristoff said as he sat on the rock.

"Now I'm not alone. You can go find her," Anna said and turned to shoo Holly from her seated position.

Holly nipped the edge of her lip and looked down the path through the glen, "you sure?"

"Yes, now go. Find Elsa, she'll be able to bring you back."

"Okay, I'll won't be long," she said before managing to build enough courage and physical strength to pick up again and run to where they thought the blonde would be.

Luckily, Holly remembered Anna's directions clearly enough that she managed to make her way over to the plateau in a decent amount of time. Leaning against her knees, her eyes raked over the expanse of long grass, taking in the view of the small plain and the land around it. She understood why Anna and Elsa and their parents loved to picnic here, it and the view of the woods and fields below was absolutely gorgeous. Despite all this, Elsa was nowhere in sight.

"Elsa!" Holly began to call. The chances of the elusive blonde responding to her weren't good and she knew that, but it didn't stop her from trying. She walked through the sea of grass as gracefully as one could while one's feet were sinking in mud. Cursing, she deviated from the path and was met with hard, dry ground.

_That's odd, why is there a line of mud-_

_Wait._

Impulsively, Holly ran alongside the trail of mud until it gradually turned to water then wet ice as she traveled onward under the summer sun.

_Bingo._

"Elsa!" she called one more time as she ran along the trail of ice that was becoming increasingly more solid the fresher it became. Soon, she had crossed the plateau and noticed the trail ending at the base of a large lone oak tree, "Elsa?"

A shuffle of branches and thick green leaves was her only reply. Unsure of what else to do, she began to climb. Luckily for her, Elsa wasn't very high up and was just perched dejectedly on a large limb with a beautiful view of the plateau and the valley below.

"You saw me coming," Holly said quietly when she finally managed to haul herself up on the limb that Elsa was perched on. The girl's only response was a small nod as her legs constricted tighter around the branch below her. Feeling to blame for not being there for her, Holly rested herself against the joint of the tree and began to fidget, "I'm sorry for not being there for you, I understand the pain."

"Why did you come after me?"

Elsa's question stunned Holly for a moment. "Should I not have?"

"I've pushed you away for the past three weeks, yet here you are still running after me. Why?" Her question could be taken as harsh if Holly didn't understand the meaning or ramifications behind it.

"Because I understand now why you did. I'll admit, I was scared and hurt before but I didn't know the extent of what you were going through. I do now, and I understand. Just because there's the odd hiccup in our relationship doesn't mean I don't care."

Holly saw Elsa's form relax ever so slightly as she gently turned to sit side-saddle on the branch, adjusting her gaze from the view of the land to the dirt and fast-melting ice trail at the base of the tree. "I know you do, I don't deserve it though."

"Elsa, you've been through hell and back. I'd hardly say that you're completely at-fault here."

"I should have dealt with Hans differently and I should have been there for Anna instead of reacting the way I always do," she spat but Holly could tell that she directed it totally at herself.

"You can't change the past, Elsa. Anna doesn't resent you and Hans deserved every ounce of what he got," Holly answered soothingly. Thinking back on the incident, it was very risky what she did but it was incredibly satisfying to see him so scared and frustrated, "nobody knows about the ice incident and no one would believe Hans anyway so you're safe from any sort of ostracism."

"Still," Elsa muttered and kept her gaze away from the smaller girl, "it was a grave mistake."

"Elsa," she said and extended a hand to touch her, but quickly dropped it with hesitation. She wished she could go back to the way they were before everything happened. She mentally cursed Hans and Serena for screwing that day up for her and Elsa. All she could see from that memory was the ice and the terror in Elsa's eyes when she woke up and when she last saw her, "Elsa, what was it that terrified you that day?"

Elsa fell silent for a good long moment before fiddling with her braid. Holly could see the memory of it bringing panic to her and she wished she didn't ask. After a few moments, Elsa shifted and turned to face Holly but still wouldn't look at her.

"I had a nightmare that practically replayed my life but in an alternate universe. I struck Anna in the head with my ice powers and she was saved by a troll but I essentially had to live in fear that if it came to light that I would be hated and harmed for it. Luckily, my parents were royalty so I could hide away until they died. I hid for years and at my coronation, Anna said she was going to marry Hans and I lost it. I let off a huge ice display and everyone either feared me or hated me. I had to run away and practically start anew, even Anna looked afraid," Elsa explained tapering off in volume the further into the story she went. Holly could see the emotion behind it as the parallels to her own life were far too close to be comforting.

"Elsa, I'm so sorry."

"You didn't know. You probably just thought Anna's blonde streak was a thing she was born with or a rebellious phase, or that I was just 'painfully shy'."

Holly nipped the side of her lip in guilt at that last part. She originally did think that Elsa was just shy. Hell, she herself was usually shy with new people so it was a natural assumption, and apparently a bad one at that.

"It's okay if that was what you assumed, I wouldn't hold it against you," Elsa replied to the look on Holly's face, "I also wouldn't hold it against you if you didn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"Would I come all the way out here if I didn't?" Holly said worriedly.

"That's true, but I don't want to-"

"Elsa, I'm not going anywhere if you don't want me to. I want to make this work and we can work through everything together. Nothing you can do is going to change that."

"I nearly froze your ex-friend, nearly impaled my sister's ex, left you stranded and dropped off the face of the earth for three weeks, then ran away like I always do! Why do you want to keep chasing after me when all I do is cause you heartache?" Elsa cried.

"Because I love you goddammit!" Holly yelled loud enough for it to echo over the plateau. All the anger, hurt, and longing that she had been feeling had finally risen to the surface. _You would think after your last instance of releasing every emotion you ever bottled up that you would have learned something._ After taking a moment to pause and recollect herself. Holly looked up to see that Elsa was looking at her with an intensity that she didn't quite understand. The two didn't look away until Elsa initiated the separation.

"I'm sorry," Elsa admitted quietly and pulled a leg up to hug close to herself, "I've been the shittiest girlfriend."

Holly's heart sunk at her self-deprecation and instinctively scooted over to be close to her, "you haven't been shitty. You've been through a lot, but you know, you don't have to bear the burden alone."

"I can't dump all this on you."

"There's more than just me. Anna cares about you, in fact she would be with me right now if she didn't twist her ankle on the way up."

"Really?"

"Yes, so you're not alone Elsa. We're all here for you, let us help," Holly said and extended an arm around the taller girl. To feel her lean in for comfort was a nice reminder of the way things were, and the way things could be.

"Thank you," Elsa replied and turned to look at her. There was the gentlest of smile on her face which brought up every inch of hope Holly could have mustered, but it hovered uncertainly in her when Elsa's expression changed, "so how have you been?"

Holly dropped her gaze and gave a little shrug. She didn't want to make Elsa feel worse by telling her what really went on. When she looked back up at her though, she could tell lying would be a waste of time. "Not very good."

"It's my fault isn't it?" Elsa asked after a significant pause.

"No it isn't. I was worried about you but it was more than just that," she said trying to reassure her. When her expression didn't change, she knew she had to further explain, "Pablo died and I was kicked out."

Elsa's eyes widened and her expression changed between angry, shocked, incredulous and settled on sympathetic. "Holly, I'm so sorry. I wish I was there for you."

"Well you are in a way, it all happened pretty recently. You're here now and that's all that matters," Holly replied not letting the emotions form earlier in the day disrupt the moment.

"Where are you going to stay?"

"I was going to crash at Kristoff's," Holly replied.

"I'd say you could stay with us, but Kristoff's is probably better set up for you," Elsa said with a slight hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Could I?" Holly asked hopefully.

"But we don't have a spare bedroom," Elsa stated with a state of dignity. It made Holly smile a bit that Elsa was so proper that no one should sleep on the couch.

"I don't mind. I'd just feel bad inconveniencing Kristoff's family. Plus, I can handle a couch temporarily."

"Temporarily?" Elsa asked quizzically.

"I wouldn't want to take up space. I'd just need somewhere to stay until I can get on my feet financially," Holly answered meekly.

"If you stayed with us, you wouldn't have to worry about that," Elsa replied but when she was met with a confused expression from Holly, she decided to further explain, "I looked through all the financials, the wills and everything and my parents left Anna and me well-off enough to maintain the house for a while. If you wanted to stay with us, you could save up some money and you wouldn't be inconveniencing anyone."

"I wouldn't?" Holly asked quietly.

Elsa just raised her brow and gave her a small look, "when have you ever been in the way?"

"I'm sorry, I don't really know better. I was always an inconvenience at home," Holly replied.

Elsa gave a small angry grumble but quickly shut her eyes and pushed the emotion away. "It's a damn good thing I'll probably never meet them. They'd make lovely ice sculptures in my opinion."

Holly gave a small smile and thought of Maude and William stuck in perfect ice where she could address them and they could never say anything snide again, "I wouldn't complain."

Elsa reached over and nuzzled the top of her head, "thank you."

"For what?"

"For coming after me. I need you around in my life," Elsa answered and extended her arms out to her.

"I need you around too," Holly said and hugged Elsa close and tight. The two of them took a few minutes to just relax in the other's arms and mentally recap. When they parted, Holly gently traced over the light freckles on Elsa's face, "come on, let's go home."

Elsa nodded and followed the smaller girl down the trunk of the oak and out to the grass field. When they were out from under the shadow of the oak tree, both of the paused to admire the view now looking even more fantastic under the colourful sky. As Holly's eyes admired the nature in front of her, Elsa managed to slip an oak branch with acorns and leaves in her hair and weave her arm around Holly's. After a moment of the two admiring each other in comparison to nature's beauty, they set off down the trail, following their long shadows made by the setting sun.


End file.
